World Cup Finals Venues
There will be ten World Cup 2010 venues and all are now ready for what will be the biggest sporting event ever held in South Africa. The World Cup final itself will be played at the fabulous Johannesberg Stadium, know as Soccer City.
Rustenburg: Royal Bafokeng Stadium Originally a rugby stadium. The current capacity of the stadium is 38,000, but will be increased to 42,000 by the time of the 2010 World Cup finals. The Royal Bakofeng Stadium will also have a new electronic scoreboard and a new floodlighting system. This stadium has been host to many South African Premier Soccer League games, despite Rustenburg not having a Premier League Soccer Team.
Polokwane: Peter Mokaba Stadium The stadium is one of five new stadiums that has being built for the 2010 World Cup and It will host 4 matches in total. The initial plan had been to upgrade the old city stadium, but then the SA Government and FIFA decided to build a new one. The Peter Mokaba Stadium will be 2 miles away from the city’s centre. The stadium was named after Peter Mokaba, a political activist during apartheid.
Nelspruit: Mbombela StadiumThe Mbombela Stadium is a new 46,000 seat stadium and is currently under construction. It will be one of the ten venues for the FIFA World Cup 2010. It will be a multi-purpose stadium, and will after the World Cup, also host rugby matches. The stadium is approximately 4 miles from the city centre.
Bloemfontein: Free State StadiumThe Free State stadium hosted group and quarter-final matches at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in 1996 and the Rugby World Cup in 1995. It is also the home of Premier Soccer League team, Bloemfontein Celtics. The stadium has been upgraded, and once completed it will have a seating capacity of 48,000.
Port Elizabeth: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is a state of the art stadium and will host both first and second round matches of the World Cup. The city did not have its own have a football dedicated stadium and all international matches were played previously at the Eastern Province rugby team's ground.
Johannesburg Stadium: Soccer City This venue is also known as the First National Bank Stadium. It has the third largest capacity in Africa. The stadium has been renovated for 2010 World Cup, the new design was inspired by traditional African pottery. The stadium will hold the opening match, four more first-round matches, one second-round match, one quarter-final and the World Cup Final of 2010.
Ellis Park Stadium The famous Ellis Park stadium is the home of Orlando Pirates FC, a club in the Premier Soccer League. In 1995, they were the first South African team to win the CAF African Club Championship. It was constructed in 1928, and until the late 80s it was used just for rugby. Then professional and National teams began to play regularly here and the stadium has hosted teams such as Brazil, Arsenal and Manchester United.
Cape Town: Green Point Stadium Another brand new stadium, purposely built for the 2010 World Cup. It is located at Green Point, at the juncture between Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean. During the World Cup, it will host five first round matches, one second round match, one quarter final and one semi-final.
Durban: Moses Mabhida Stadium This new stadium will be part of Durban's King Park sporting complex that will also. include a variety of different sports. It has a seating capacity of 70,000, and the design of the stadium will be characterized by two large archways above the stadium roof.
Pretoria: Loftus Versfeld StadiumOver the years the stadium has undergone various name changes, but locals have always referred to it as Loftus Versfeld Stadium. Minimal upgrading only was required for the World Cup, where it will host first and second round matches. This was the ground where South Africa’s recorded their historic 1-0 win over Sweden, their first ever victory over a European team.
