9,500 People Set World Record at Mexico City Soccer Class

Mexico City's main plaza became a sea of soccer balls on Sunday as 9,500 people set a new Guinness World Record for the largest soccer class ever held.

The massive training session filled the Zócalo, the historic square in front of the National Palace, with participants ranging from kids to adults all doing drills together. Dozens of instructors led the crowd through coordinated exercises and skills training on artificial turf specially laid out for the occasion.

Mayor Clara Brugada joined the sweaty crowd alongside Mexican soccer legends, declaring that Mexico City had officially "kicked off the World Cup." The city will host five World Cup matches in June, including the tournament's opening game on June 11.

"Today we scored a goal against hatred, inequality and indifference," Brugada told the cheering participants. Her government organized the event to promote a message of peace through sports.

Soccer stars from Mexico's national team history showed up to coach and celebrate. The lineup included Braulio Luna, Francisco "Kikín" Fonseca, Óscar "Conejo" Pérez, Miguel España, and Adrián Chávez, plus several members of Mexico's 1971 Women's World Cup squad.

The Ripple Effect

The record absolutely crushed the previous mark of 1,038 participants set in Seattle just nine months earlier. Guinness World Records judge Alfredo Arista Rueda made it official: "You are officially amazing."

This wasn't Mexico City's first mass sports record. The capital brought 30,000 people together for a boxing class in 2023, doubling their own previous record from a year before.

The soccer class is part of Mexico's Social World Cup program, which brings educational, tourism and cultural activities to communities nationwide. Earlier this month, 4,757 people in Chiapas formed the world's largest human soccer jersey, and another record attempt for a massive collaborative soccer mural is planned for May.

Nearly 10,000 people proved that soccer really is a universal language that needs no translation.