France’s Top 14 rugby final is set to break the attendance record for a club rugby union game after tournament organisers said on Wednesday that all currently available tickets have been sold for the showpiece at the Camp Nou in Barcelona.
The final of France’s top rugby union league is usually held in the Stade de France in Paris but will this year take place at Barcelona’s 98,000-capacity venue as the French national stadium is being used for the European soccer championships.
It will be the first rugby match to take place at Camp Nou and the expected 98,000 crowd will eclipse the previous record attendance of 84,068, for an English Premiership match between Saracens and Harlequins at Wembley last March.
While organisers said the event was a sell-out, a number of seats have been held back for the fans of the two teams who reach the final.
The Top 14 has six weeks remaining of the regular season before the top six teams take part in the playoffs, which begin on June 11.
The world record for attendance at a rugby game was set in 1999 at Sydney’s Olympic stadium when the All Blacks played the Wallabies.
More than 107,000 attended.
