World Cup Overall Attendance Third Highest In History

JOHANNESBURG :  South Africa’s World Cup achieved the third highest overall attendance _ behind the 1994 tournament in the United States and the last World Cup in Germany.

FIFA said in a statement on Monday that 3.18 million fans attended the 64 matches in South Africa at an average of 49,670.

The ’94 World Cup in the U.S. _ where 3.59 million people watched games at the stadiums _ still holds the record.

In Germany four years ago, 3.36 million supporters attended games.

Organizers in South Africa admitted to serious worries over fan attendance in the run-up to the tournament before eventually agreeing to sell match tickets over the counter _ a friendlier method for locals.

FIFA also said the average number of goals per game in South Africa was 2.27, down on 2.30 in Germany and 2.50 in Japan and South Korea in 2002.