Australian football match attracts biggest pandemic crowd of 78,000

Melbourne - Anzac Day match believed to be biggest crowd at a sporting fixture since pandemic began.

Just over 78,000 spectators packed a Melbourne stadium Sunday for an Australian Rules football match, in what is believed to be the biggest crowd at a sporting fixture since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

However, the crowd size at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) fell short of expectations that 85,000 could attend the traditional Anzac Day match between the Collingwood Magpies and Essendon Bombers.

The MCG can seat 100,000 people and the Australian Football League (AFL) had hoped health authorities would allow the match to be played in front of a capacity stadium.

However, officials ordered ticket sales to be capped at 85 percent of capacity, up from a previous limit of 75 percent.

A spokeswoman for the MCG said 78,311 people attended on Sunday.

One commentator for Channel 7, which broadcast the match, said "we think that's a world record crowd for any sporting event since the pandemic hit".