Vancouver bids farewell to FIFA Fan Festival as World Cup final sets Canadian viewership record

By Liam Tremblay — 21 July 2026 — 3 min read

The FIFA World Cup final, which saw Spain defeat Argentina, achieved a record television audience in Canada. Preliminary data released by Bell Media from Numeris indicated an average of 6.4 million viewers tuned in, marking it as the most-watched FIFA World Cup match on record in the country. Throughout the final, 14.6 million viewers watched at some point, with a peak audience of 9.05 million just before the final whistle.

The match was broadcast across Bell Media‘s platforms, including its sports services TSN and RDS, as well as broadcast networks CTV and Noovo, and its streaming service Crave. This record viewership surpassed the previous high for a FIFA World Cup match, which was 5.8 million viewers for both the 2010 and 2014 finals.

Canadian viewership milestones

The 2026 tournament saw a significant increase in overall viewership compared to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The average viewership for all 104 matches reached 1.6 million, and a total of 30.5 million Canadians watched at least some of the live coverage provided by the broadcaster. Notably, 68 matches attracted an average audience of at least one million viewers.

This included 38 group-stage matches, which saw a 43 per cent increase in viewership from 2022. The 16 matches played in the round-of-32 also drew a substantial audience, averaging 1.9 million viewers. The strong performance of Canada’s Men’s National Team, playing in its first home World Cup, contributed to these numbers.

The Canadian Men’s National Team‘s round-of-16 loss to Morocco garnered an average audience of 5.4 million viewers. This figure represented the largest domestic audience for a Canada match at any FIFA World Cup tournament and was the most-watched non-final match on record.

Shawn Redmond, vice-president of Bell Media Sports, stated that Canadians would remember the FIFA World Cup 2026 due to the thrilling matches, passionate fans in stadiums and on the streets, and the historic performance of the Men’s National Team.

Fan festival concludes in Vancouver

In Vancouver, the FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE concluded with the final match. The atmosphere at the festival was described as energetic as fans gathered to watch Spain secure their second World Cup title. The match saw no goals in regular time, leading to extra time where Spain ultimately scored.

For Argentina supporters, the final brought disappointment as Lionel Messi played in what was described as the final FIFA match of his career without securing the win. One supporter noted that many attendees came to see their idol, Messi, and acknowledged his effort despite the loss.

The final match also highlighted a generational moment in football, with some fans viewing it as a passing of the torch. A widely shared photo ahead of the final depicted Lionel Messi with a young Lamine Yamal from a charity calendar photoshoot. Nineteen years later, both players were on the field together as stars of the game.

Global viewership insights

While English-language viewership data for the United States is not yet available, preliminary data from Nielsen indicated that Spanish-language viewership on Telemundo and Peacock reached 22.6 million, representing a 150 per cent increase from the 2022 final. Reports from Spanish media on Monday indicated that the match attracted 17 million viewers in Spain, capturing a 91 per cent share of all televisions tuned in at that time.

The British broadcast of the final, as announced by the BBC, drew an average audience of 13.9 million. Global viewership numbers, typically released by FIFA, are expected to be disclosed at a later date. The 2022 final, for comparison, recorded an average minute audience of 571 million viewers, with 1.42 billion tuning in for at least one minute of the action.

Source: theglobeandmail.com