According to IBSA, live television coverage in the host country of Finland saw an average of 35,000 people watching the finals, with a peak of 38,000.

Online coverage of the Championships in Espoo last month also yieled encouraging figures for IBSA, with an average of 4,326 unique visitors for the first five days of last month's action.

The most popular day was the final day of round robin play, which attracted 4,695 unique viewers.

A "mega amount" of unique visitors on the official website was also recorded during the six days of play, with an average of 3,952.

On the final day, there were 4,892 people who visited the website.

There was also a spike in engagement on the official Twitter and Facebook pages.

An IBSA spokesman said: "We at IBSA Goalball would like to thank the organising committee of the 2014 IBSA Goalball World Championships for putting on such a great display that led to so many people engaged in the sport of goalball during the World Championships.

"Furthermore to all participants, congratulations to you all for such a high quality performance that led to so many individuals tuning in and following the championships."

The Championships were won for the first time by Brazil, who beat the hosts and reigning Paralypic champions Finland 9-1.

The United States took the women's crown with a 3-0 victory over Russia.