Colombia vs. France draws record crowd at Northwest Stadium

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Published  March 29, 2026 8:03pm EDT
FOX 5 DC

Photo courtesy of Northwest Stadium. 

The Brief

    • Colombia and France drew nearly 61,000 fans to a sold-out Northwest Stadium for their Road to 26 match. 
    • The event was the second-highest attended soccer match in the venue’s 28-year history. 
    • Northwest Stadium, which hosted six 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup matches and numerous top European friendlies, most recently saw Colombia face the U.S. Men’s National Team in June 2024. 

LANDOVER, MD. - Colombia and France drew nearly 61,000 fans to a sold-out Northwest Stadium for their Road to 26 match, making it the second-highest attended soccer match in the venue’s 28-year history, according to a press release. 

New records

Dig deeper:

The turnout also sets a new record for the largest crowd at a friendly match at the stadium.

Photo courtesy of Northwest Stadium. 
Photo courtesy of Northwest Stadium. 
Photo courtesy of Northwest Stadium. 
Photo courtesy of Northwest Stadium. 
Photo courtesy of Northwest Stadium. 

The match was highly anticipated, as it marked only the fifth meeting between the two national teams. France leads the series 3-1, but Colombia’s lone victory came in their last encounter in March 2018, when they came from two goals down to defeat France 3-2 at the Stade de France, the release noted. 

Northwest Stadium has a long history of hosting major soccer events, including six matches during the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup and numerous club friendlies featuring top European teams, per the release.

More recently, the stadium hosted Colombia against the U.S. Men’s National Team in June 2024 ahead of the Copa América, the organizers said.

The Source: Information from a joint press release issued by Lion Sports & Media, Cardenas Media Network and Unified Events. 

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