The Biggest Football Stadiums in the World — The Sporting Blog

Football (soccer) is the worlds most popular sport and its stadiums make up a high percentage of the 4,892 sports stadiums on planet Earth. We take a look at some of the biggest and well known football stadiums in the world.

The Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Officially known as Estádio Mário Filho, the Maracana Stadium was built to serve as the centrepiece of the 1950 World Cup. It was designed to become the largest football stadium in the world. It opened on 16th June 1950 with a friendly match between selected players from Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

After eight days, the stadium hosted the opening match of the 1950 World Cup between Brazil and Mexico (4–0). It would continue to host four more tournaments in the first round group stage and three more in the second round stage, among which there was the deciding final match between Uruguay and Brazil (2–1).