Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC drew the largest attendance at BMO Field in the club’s history on Saturday for a match against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, which served as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup matches held at the venue.
Nearly 45,000 fans, many in the pink and black colors of Miami and the blue and white of Argentina, packed into the World Cup’s smallest venue to watch the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, giving the city a taste of what will happen when six matches take place.
“This weekend will serve as a real test run with a number of high-volume sporting events in the city,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said Friday, also referring to a pair of Toronto Blue Jays games and the Sporting Life 10K event.
The appeal of Messi, who scored in Miami’s 4-2 victory, saw 44,828 people flock to Toronto’s services to see how they would perform with a similarly sized crowd, from getting fans in and out of the stadium to transportation operations.
BMO’s field security was put to the test on Saturday when several pitch intruders tried to race across the field in the hope of reaching the 38-year-old Argentine as the clock wound down.
“This weekend’s competition is a valuable opportunity for city departments, emergency services, transportation agencies, venue operators and other partners to work together in a live event environment, to test and refine as required before the competitions begin,” Sharon Bollenbach, executive director of the World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat, said in a statement to Reuters.
The World Cup is expected to draw more than 300,000 visitors to Toronto, the city has previously said.
Saturday’s match was Toronto FC’s final appearance at BMO Field before the June 11-July 19 tournament.
The stadium underwent a $158 million facelift, adding 17,000 temporary seats behind the goals to meet World Cup capacity standards. The seating was used for the first time on Saturday.
The steep stands sparked criticism online in March about the safety of the scaffolding, with one person writing on
But the temporary seating didn’t seem to be a problem for fans on Saturday, with some in the highest back rows choosing to stand with their backs against the railing to watch the match and enjoy the view of Lake Ontario after the final whistle.
Metrolinx, which operates the city’s GO train service, said in a statement Wednesday that it was using the game as a «readiness test» with more frequent service to the station near BMO Field for games plus additional safety and crowd management measures.
The World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, the US and Mexico, is expected to bring about half a million additional riders to its services, Metrolinx said on Friday.
Canada opens its World Cup campaign against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 at BMO Stadium. In Group B they also face Qatar and Switzerland during the 2022 World Cup.
Published on May 10, 2026
