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World Football Challenge Attendance Down Sharply From First Two Iterations
The nine matches of the Herbalife World Football Challenge averaged 37,609 fans per game this summer, down 10% from the event’s 14 matches last year and down 33% from the first iteration in ’09 (six games). The match featuring EPL club Chelsea and Seria A club AC Milan at Sun Life Stadium on July 28 was the most-attended match this year with 57,748 fans. The WFC had four matches draw over that mark last year.
TV: ESPN2 averaged 220,000 viewers for the five WFC matches it aired this year, down from the net's average of 419,000 viewers for the net's nine telecasts last year and 478,000 viewers in '09 (five telecasts). Fox Soccer also aired WFC matches for the first time this year, averaging 76,000 viewers. The MLS Sounders exhibition against Chelsea on July 18 was the most-viewed match this year with 385,000 viewers.
'12 HERBALIFE WORLD FOOTBALL CHALLENGEGAME VENUE ATTENDANCESounders FC-Chelsea CenturyLink Field 53,309Toronto FC-Liverpool Rogers Centre 33,087Chelsea-Paris Saint-Germain Yankee Stadium 38,202Chelsea-AC Milan Sun Life Stadium 57,748DC United-Paris Saint-Germain RFK Stadium 13,176Galaxy-Real Madrid The Home Depot Center 30,317Real Madrid-Santos Laguna Sam Boyd Stadium 29,152Real Madrid-AC Milan Yankee Stadium 49,474Real Madrid-Celtic Lincoln Financial Field 34,018AVERAGE37,609'11 HERBALIFE WORLD FOOTBALL CHALLENGEGAME VENUE ATTENDANCEManchester United-Revolution Gillette Stadium 51,523Manchester City-Club America AT&T Park 11,250Real Madrid-Galaxy L.A. Memorial Coliseum 56,211Manchester City-Whitecaps Empire Field 24,074Real Madrid-Chivas de Guadalajara Qualcomm Stadium 38,211Manchester United-Fire Soldier Field 61,308Sporting-Juventus BMO Field 10,028Real Madrid-Union Lincoln Financial Field 57,305Manchester City-Galaxy The Home Depot Center 24,897Club America-Juventus Citi Field 20,859Juventus-Chivas de Guadalajara Carter-Finley Stadium 16,124FC Barcelona-Manchester United FedEx Field 81,807FC Barcelona-Chivas de Guadalajara Sun Life Stadium 70,080FC Barcelona-Club America Cowboys Stadium 60,807AVERAGE41,749'09 WORLD FOOTBALL CHALLENGEGAME VENUE ATTENDANCEClub America-Inter Milan Stanford Stadium 31,026Chelsea-Inter Milan Rose Bowl 81,224Club America-AC Milan Georgia Dome 53,600Chelsea-AC Milan M&T Bank Stadium 71,203Inter Milan-AC Milan Gillette Stadium 42,531Chelsea-Club America Cowboy Stadium 57,229AVERAGE56,136




