A worldwide television audience of more than 700 million people was expected to have watched Spain’s 1-0 extra-time victory over the Netherlands in last night’s World Cup final, according to football’s world governing body FIFA.

Official figures will be calculated today, however FIFA expects the final to have set a record audience for a sports broadcast in Spain, and an audience share of more than 90 per cent in the Netherlands.

Niclas Ericson, FIFA TV director, told reporters yesterday: “I think the audience for the final will be bigger than 2006, when it was watched by 700 million people.”

He added record viewing figures were reported in Germany for Wednesday’s semi-final with Spain – an average of 31.1 million viewers and an 83.2-per-cent share on public-service broadcaster ARD.

The audience is the first to break the 30 million mark in the history of German television. Ericson also said sports broadcaster ESPN in the United States boasts a 50 per cent increase in overall figures compared to 2006.