Fifa 2010 World Cup SA Stadiums and Info
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In June 2010, the world’s sporting eyes will be focused on South Africa, host to the FIFA 2010 World Cup. For the first time in FIFA’s 100-year history, the World Cup will go to the African continent. This sporting spectacle gives South Africa the chance to showcase the diversity, passion and beauty of this extraordinary country, on a world stage.
The 64 matches will be played in 10 stadiums, in 9 cities. The event kicks-off with the opening matches at the FNB (First National Bank) Stadium or Soccer City near Soweto, Johannesburg. The stadium is undergoing a major upgrade for 2010, and will also stage first- and second-round matches, a quarter-final, and the all important final. Originally built in 1987, the stadium is home to the South African Football Association (SAFA), and is the country’s premier football stadium. The upgrade – its design inspired by traditional ceramics – will include extending the upper tier, adding an encircling roof, and a new changing room complex. This will increase the current 80,000 capacity to 94,700.
It is thought that teams will carry out their final training sessions in and around Johannesburg. Local stadiums earmarked for this are: Orlando Stadium, Dobsonville Stadium, Rand Stadium, Cecil Payne Stadium, Rabie Ridge Stadium and Ruimsig Stadium.
Ellis Park, located near the centre of Johannesburg, will host first- and second-round matches, and a quarter-final. Famously home to the 1995 Rugby World Cup, when South Africa beat New Zealand in extra time, new upper tiers behind each goal will increase the capacity by 10,000 to 70,000. Brazil, Manchester United and Arsenal have all played here, and the stadium is currently home to the Kaizer Chiefs football club – nicknamed Amakhosi, meaning ‘chiefs’ in Zulu.
In Pretoria, 30 miles north of Johannesburg, first- and second-round matches will be played in the Loftus Versveld stadium – named after the sports administrator, who died while at the ground. The Stadium has a capacity of 45,000 and following a series of major renovations since 1977, needs only minor upgrades for 2010.
Johannesburg and Pretoria are located in Gauteng, the most densely populated of the provinces, home to more than 7 million people. Here culture and entertainment flourish, so once the game is over, there will be no shortage of things to do. For something a little wilder, the Lanseria Lion Park and Krugersdorp Game Reserve are close by.
The Royal Bafoken Stadium in Rustenburg, a short drive from Johannesburg in the neighboring North West province, will stage first- and second- round matches. Opened in 1999, the multi-purpose stadium will only need minor works to bring it up to FIFA standards, two additional rows of seating on the second level increasing the capacity to 40,000.
If you love the outdoors, you will love the North West province. Hiking, rafting, mountain biking and abseiling are just some of the activities on offer. Spot the ‘big five’ at the Pilanesberg Game Reserve, or relax with your family at the Sun City hotel complex.
Polokwane, the capital of the Limpopo province, will stage four first-round matches at its Peter Mokaba Stadium – named after the former President of the ANC Youth League, who died in 1999 at the age of 43. With only one stand and three grass banks, initial plans for a major upgrade were abandoned and a new 45,000 capacity stadium is being built, adjacent to the existing one.
The ancient lands of the Limpopo, or ‘Great North’, boast Stone Age relics; but it is perhaps best known for the Kruger National Park, the most famous game reserve in the world. Extend your visit and travel north to the borders of Zimbabwe and Zambia, and the natural wonder that is the Victoria Falls. Here you can experience the true force of nature whether on a safari, fishing or white-water rafting down the Zambezi.
The 30,000 capacity Mbombela Stadium, in Nelspruit, is being specially built for 2010 and will stage four first-round matches. With roof supports designed to resemble giraffes, the stadium is being designed to have an impact on the local economy long after 2010, with multi-sport, conference, and entertainment facilities.
The province of Mpumalanga is one of South Africa’s more popular tourist areas. The beauty of Dullstroom, with its lakes and forests, offers excellent fly-fishing, traditional food and fresh air for all the family. For a more active break, try rock-climbing, paragliding or kloofing.
Home to the premier league Bloemfontein Celtics, Bloemfontein’s Free State Stadium is host to first- and second-round matches. Used during the 1996 African Cup of Nations, it is also known as Vodacom Park, an area dedicated to sport of all kinds. Even after substantial upgrades for the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the stadium will undergo further, major renovation as a second tier is added to the main grandstand, increasing its capacity to 48,000. 
Free State province is home to the most productive gold and diamond mines in the world. With such a diverse range of activities on offer, tourist routes have been devised to ensure you get the most from your visit. Routes include: ‘The Goldfields Routes’, ‘Diamond and Wine Route’, ‘Steam Train Route’, and ‘The Battlefield Route’.
The World Cup heads for the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and visits the province of KwaZulu-Natal, the ‘Kingdom of the Zulu’. King Senzangakhona Stadium in Durban – named after the founding father of the Zulu Nation – is host to first- and second-round matches, and a semi-final. The stadium is being specially built and to qualify for semi-final status, will construct covered tiers at the north and sound ends of the stadium, bringing the seating capacity to 60,000.
A walkway leads fans directly from the stadium to the Durban beachfront. Stunning beaches offer safe swimming and fantastic surfing. If you have time, head inland to the breathtaking mountains of the Drakensberg National Park.
Port Elizabeth, on the coast of the Eastern Cape province, will host first- and second-round matches, a quarter-final and the third-place playoff, in the newly built Nelson Mandela Stadium. This futuristic, high-tech, five-tier stadium will have a capacity of 49,500, and be the first world-class football stadium in the Eastern Cape province.
June is a perfect time to visit Africa’s only ski resort in Tiffindell, or freefall 160 meters as you bungee-jump off Bloukrans River Bridge, down to Storms River below. For something calmer, why not go sailing on the warm waters of the Indian Ocean?
The newly-built, all-weather stadium at Greenpoint in Cape Town will host first- and second-round matches, a quarter-final and a semifinal. It will replace the existing stadium of the same name, and increase the capacity from 18,000 to 68,000. The building is organized over six levels, and includes a double-skin roof, designed for its acoustic properties. The stadium will be surrounded by 160 acres of urban park. 
This is the favorite tourist destination in South Africa and it is not hard to see why. Here the warm waters of the Indian Ocean meet the chill of the Atlantic. Allow plenty of time to explore the capital of the Western Cape province. Scale Table Mountain, a dramatic backdrop to the Greenpoint Stadium, see the oceans meet at Cape Point or simply relax at Kirstenbosch botanical gardens. A short drive away and you are sitting in the heart of the Winelands. Head out on the Garden Route for whale watching or a round of golf. It is hard to do justice to this magnificent city in so few words.
Diversity, emotion, struggle and victory have shaped the South Africa we see today. As they take charge of one of the biggest sporting event on the globe, is there a more fitting stage for the ‘beautiful game’?
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South Africa Car Rental Option 3: Book your 2010 / 2011 South Africa Car Hire with Tempest South Africa here.Also read our full review on the World Cup Groups playing in the South Africa World Cup here
Travel to Southern Africa in 2010: the Holidaymaker’s Eden
South Africa after apartheid is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the African continent. It’s also the gateway to other unspoilt realms of sub-Saharan Africa. With the foundations for tourism established and expanding, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique all offer unique opportunities for unforgettable experiences during the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup. Travellers seeking lazy luxury or extreme sports, archaeology tours or collectable art will find all these and more in the diverse lands of southern Africa.
Beach Holidays
With thousands of miles of coastline, southern Africa boasts an unsurpassed choice of sun-drenched destinations. For fun-seekers, coastal cities like Cape Town and Durban boast vibrant resorts and waterfront developments where holidaymakers can combine sea and sand with shopping and socialising. Alternatively, the coast is strung with small towns and fishing villages that are closer to nature. Activities range from perfecting your tan to swimming in shoals of tropical fish in Mozambique’s Bazaruto archipelago, in the Indian Ocean. Whether your fancy is viewing sealife, catching fish or sampling seafood in local eateries, options abound. Wild beaches where bird and animal life is plentiful and people few are equally easy to find, wherever you may be. If lying in the sun has lost its appeal, coastal trails that range from gentle rambling to energetic hiking exist along the length of the coast. For a different beach experience, Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, where the Namib Desert meets the sea, is a desolate and magical landscape, strewn with shipwrecks.
Wild Africa
Nature and game reserves attract millions of visitors. As well as world-famous reserves like South Africa’s Kruger Park and Shamwari, and Namibia’s Etosha Park, small private reserves offer a variety of encounters with the wild. Some specialise in the ‘big five’ (lion, rhino, buffalo, elephant and leopard), while others offer birdwatching or ecotourism amongst the subcontinent’s unprecedented range of flora. In spring in the northern Cape Province, south of the Namibia-South Africa border, the arid landscape explodes with carpets of flowers stretching to the horizon.
Zambia is a new hub for visitors to wildlife reserves. You can visit cheetah breeding programmes in Namibia or see endangered wild dogs in Botswana’s Chobe region. Navigating Botswana’s Okavango Swamps by dugout canoe gives visitors a unique chance to be close to nature, as do many other trails that traverse untouched environments. Africa’s forests and open veld, and its rivers and lakes, like Lake Malawi – the world’s ninth largest lake – offer tranquil relaxation.
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Extreme Sports
As well as the full spectrum of watersports, diving, hang-gliding, mountain-climbing and more, questers for adventure holidays may prefer something riskier. Whitewater rafting in the Zambezi River beneath the Victoria Falls or bungee-jumping from the bridge across it appeals to some, cage-diving with sharks to others. Ancient Africa
The more sedate practice of archaeological tourism is more to some tastes. The ruins of Great Zimbabwe are unforgettable, though not a mystery, as some still believe. These are the remains of the capital of a prosperous African state that flourished from the twelfth to fifteenth centuries A.D. Southern Africa is replete with fossil sites, including the Cradle of Humankind, north of Johannesburg, which offers tours of renowned fossil and human ancestor sites, such as Sterkfontein Caves. The mountainous areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia conceal numerous rock art sites, painting and carvings made by the San (Bushman) peoples and their Stone Age ancestors.Popular attractions dating to more recent times include the Anglo-Boer War battlefields in KwaZulu-Natal, Cape wine estates, with their gracious Cape Dutch architecture and historical gold and diamond mines and associated villages.
African Arts and Cultures
African art inspired artists like Picasso and is both trendy and collectable today. Crafts and artworks are on sale in markets across the land, including items as diverse as handmade jewellery, baskets and pottery, wooden carvings, colourful textiles and fine art stone sculpture. Contemporary art thrives alongside more traditional forms in all the major centres. The wealth of the African experience lies also in encountering its many different cultures, from the Zulu to the San of the Kalahari Desert and the Himba and Herero of northern Namibia. African township jazz is as memorable and moving as traditional African drumming or Bushman ‘mood music’.
Perhaps most of all, Africa’s charm lies in the cheerful optimism of its peoples, even though the subcontinent faces terrible challenges from poverty and disease. Whether your African holiday consists of backpacking or basking in the luxury of rural lodges and bush camps, you will not fail to appreciate the indigenous friendliness and humour. The African philosophy pivots on the idea of ubuntu –‘people are only people because of other people – and it shows.
South Africa Car Hire Option 1: Book your 2010 / 2011 South Africa Car Hire with First Car Rental here.
South Africa Car Hire Option 2: Book your 2010 / 2011 South Africa Car Rental with Europcar South Africa here.
South Africa Car Rental Option 3: Book your 2010 / 2011 South Africa Car Hire with Tempest South Africa here.Also read our full review on the World Cup Groups playing in the South Africa World Cup here
The World Wide Appeal of Soccer
Soccer, or Football as it is known throughout the world, is the most popular sport and requires a huge amount of skill. It creates fanatical fans, and throws the world’s biggest sporting tournament, the FIFA World Cup. But why is it so popular?
One of the major reasons is the relative simplicity of the World Game. All that is required to play is two teams and a small round ball. This makes it the only sport that can be played in many developing nations. And it is from these nations that some of the best players come.
The rules are also easy to learn: don’t use your arms, and kick the ball into the net. The hardest rule to memorize is the offside rule, but even this can be understood after only a single game. It is these few requirements that make the game of soccer so exhilarating.
Nearly all the countries in the world have a soccer league, and most nations try to qualify for the World Cup. This particular competition is broadcast to every corner of the soccer community, and makes die hard fans out of all.
Soccer takes nature hand eye coordination and develops it into pure skill. This is another reason for the appeal of the game. Huge amounts of money are spent in securing the best players throughout the many clubs, and an individual player can be worth more than 50 million dollars. This gives hope to many young players, and continually builds the media coverage of the game.
Australia is a prime example of soccer taking hold of an entire nation. There is a small soccer league, but it is still in its first year. They have made the World Cup for the first time in 32 years, and yet their first game against Japan beat the State of Origin in Television Coverage. The State of Origin is the most popular sporting event in Australian culture. It is this kind of aura that gives soccer its influence of the world.
In 1985, Stafford Heginbotham said that, “Football is the opera of the people.” This puts the entire world soccer appeal into perspective. It can be played by anyone, not just the rich, not just the upper class. Anyone and everyone can and does play this game.
Soccer is growing in participation and viewing numbers. Hundreds of thousands of people watch the game regularly, and millions tune in during the World Cup to see their heroes play. And it is easy to see why.
Soccer is often called the beautiful game because of the skill needed to be able to compete in the top leagues. Players spend thousands of hours perfecting their art. The ability to have full control over a small ball is highly sought after. Being able to kick at high speeds and with great accuracy can set a player up for life.
Because anyone can play professionally, if they are dedicated, then hope is given to youth throughout the world. They can break free and achieve great things, but only if they put in the effort. This mind set teaches determination, faith, and that if you strive for your dreams you can achieve anything. These characteristics are taught by the game of soccer, and is one of the many reasons that the beautiful game is so appealing to the masses.
Joga Bonita.
- Russ Egan
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