Toronto attracts record crowd for match against Messi’s Inter Miami in World Cup preview
Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC drew their highest attendance ever at BMO Field for a match against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami on Saturday, which acted as a preview for the World Cup matches set to take place at the venue.
Nearly 45,000 fans, many adorned in Miami’s pink and black colors and Argentina’s blue and white, filled the World Cup’s smallest venue to witness the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, offering the city a glimpse of what lies ahead as it prepares to host six matches.
“This weekend will serve as a practical test run with several high-attendance sporting events in town,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow stated on Friday, also mentioning a couple of Toronto Blue Jays games and the Sporting Life 10K event.
The appeal of Messi, who netted a goal in Miami’s 4-2 victory, attracted an audience of 44,828, providing Toronto services an opportunity to evaluate their performance with similarly large crowds, from managing fan entry and exit at the stadium to overseeing transit operations.
On Saturday, BMO Field security faced a challenge as multiple pitch invaders attempted to sprint across the field to reach the 38-year-old Argentine as the match approached its conclusion.
“This weekend’s match presents a significant opportunity for city divisions, emergency services, transit agencies, venue operators, and other partners to collaborate in a live event environment, allowing them to test and make necessary adjustments before the matches commence,” Sharon Bollenbach, executive director of the World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat, stated in a message to Reuters.
Toronto has previously stated that the World Cup is anticipated to attract over 300,000 visitors.
Saturday’s match marked Toronto FC’s last appearance at BMO Field prior to the tournament scheduled from June 11 to July 19.
The stadium underwent a $158 million renovation, which included the addition of 17,000 temporary seats behind the goals to comply with World Cup capacity requirements. The seating was utilized for the first time on Saturday.
The steep stands faced backlash online in March regarding the safety of the scaffolding, with one individual commenting, X: “Just saw a photo of BMO’s temporary seating.” With all due respect, there is no amount of money that would persuade me to climb, stand, or sit on that.
However, the temporary seats seemed to pose no problem for fans on Saturday, as some in the uppermost back rows chose to stand with their backs against the railings, enjoying the match and the views of Lake Ontario after the final whistle.
Metrolinx, which operates the city’s GO train service, stated on Wednesday that it was utilizing the match as a “readiness test,” implementing more frequent service to the station near BMO Field for games, along with additional safety and crowd management measures.
Metrolinx announced on Friday that the World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, is anticipated to attract around half a million extra riders to its services.
Canada will begin their World Cup journey facing Bosnia and Herzegovina at the BMO Stadium on June 12. In Group B, they will also encounter the 2022 World Cup hosts, Qatar, along with Switzerland.
