Soccer City

Soccer City, sometimes referred to as the FNB Stadium and currently has a capacity of 94,700, the largest in Africa. It is located next to the South African Football Association headquarters (SAFA House) where both the FIFA offices and the Local Organising Committee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is housed.

The stadium is the centre-piece for the 2010 World Cup and will hold the opening match, four more first-round matches, one second-round match, one quarter-final, and the final.

The Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg is undergoing renovations for the 2010 World Cup with a new design inspired by traditional African pottery. The upper tier will be extended to bring the overall capacity to 94,700 with an extra 99 Executive suites, new changing rooms, new floodlights and a new encircling roof that will be installed. The ground is located next to the South African Football Association headquarters where the FIFA committee for the 2010 World Cup is also based.The upgrade of the stadium, which will cost in the region of $140 million, will see the existing structure equipped with seating for additional fans, bringing the total spectator capacity close to 100,000.

Green Point One of the most artistic football venues in South Africa, the newly-built Green Point Stadium is situated in one of the much sought-after areas in the city of Cape Town. Green Point Stadium is one of the two semi-final venues for the FIFA World Cup.The Green Point Stadium in Cape Town will be transformed into a completely new 70 000 seater, all-weather, multi-purpose, environmentally sustainable, modern, technologically advanced, world class Stadium giving expression to the “African Renaissance Stadium” at the juncture between Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean at the southern tip of Africa.

This multi-purpose venue is also going to be used to stage major events and concerts. Fans will be a stone's throw from the ocean and the mountains of Cape Town will also provide the backdrop for matches. The location is ideal as it is a short walk from the transportation hub of the city. The new stadium has been partly built on land that was previously used as a golf course.

The stadium, which has an exterior that is covered with noise-reducing cladding has a capacity of 70,000 and is scheduled for completion in December 2009. The Green Point Common, on which the new 2010 stadium is being built, was originally much larger than what now remains, and included most of the land between the sea and Signal Hill, stretching from the city centre towards Sea Point.

Cape Town has another world-standard stadium, Newlands, but this is primarily used as a rugby union venue. Post FIFA World Cup, the Green Point Stadium is likely to be used by some of the Cape Town-based professional football outfits that include Ajax Cape Town and Santos.

Moses Mabhida Stadium Located in KwaZulu Natal in the beautiful City of Durban, Moses Mabhida Stadium is named after a hero of the working class. The Moses Mabhida Stadium is located adjacent the ABSA Stadium in the Kings Park Sporting Precinct - a site located in Stamford Hill, is yet to be another world class multi-purpose stadium set to make possible successful history in the making of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

To make way for this prestigious contribution Kings Park Stadium was demolished in late 2006 to develop a new stadium complex set to comprise of an adjoining indoor arena, sporting museum, sport institute and a new transmodal transportation station in preparations ahead of the world showpiece. Scheduled to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup five group matches, one second round match, one quarter final and a semi-final match; the catering capacity is set to comprise of 70 000 spectator seats. There are plans and allocations to increase the capacity of the stadium to 84 000 seats in the future to further accommodate major events such as Olympics.

It is a world-class and multifunctional arena located in the heart of the Kings Park Sporting Precinct. Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium will be the jewel in the crown of the Kings Park Sporting precinct. The entire area will feature additional sporting arenas and facilities as well as restaurants, shops, play areas for children and a pedestrian walkway linking the stadium complex to the beach.

Ellis Park Stadium Ellis Park Stadium is a major football venue in South Africa. It has been ear-marked as a semi-final venue for the 2010 South Africa World Cup. The Stadium underwent major renovations to fullfill all the FIFA™ requirements. New upper tiers were added behind each goal, adding an extra 10 000 seats and bringing the seating capacity to the required 70 000. Ellis Park now meets all requirements as a semi-final match venue.

Ellis Park stadium has a special place in South Africans' hearts after the 1995 Rugby World Cup final, when South Africa beat New Zealand during extra time in what was one of the most thrilling rugby matches ever!

The ground will always occupy a special place in the hearts of the country's sporting fans after the South African rugby team shocked New Zealand to lift the 1995 Rugby World Cup trophy soon after being allowed back onto the world sporting stage. It was a moment that brought the people of South Africa together in celebration as the iconic scenes of Nelson Mandela holding aloft the trophy at Ellis Park were beamed around the world.

Free State Stadium For the 2010 World Cup, a second tier was added to the main grandstand, which increased the seating capacity to 48,000. New turnstiles were erected, the floodlights upgraded, electronic scoreboards installed and the sound system was revamped. The Free State Stadium has been ear-marked for 1st and 2nd Round Matches for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The stadium was given a plush new look for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup . It hosted the memorable semi-final match between Spain and USA where the latter secured one of the biggest surprises of the tournament by sending the European champions packing in front of a capacity crowd.

The Free State Stadium was upgraded from a capacity of 38,000 to 45,000 during the refurbishments. The stadium has hosted numerous major football and rugby union matches, and Bloemfontein's natives are renowned for their passion for sport. While the former played second fiddle to the latter for decades, football's popularity explosion - aided by the emergence of Bloemfontein Celtic - is changing this. The Celtic fans are known as Siwelele, a Sotho term.

Nelson Mandela Stadium Port Elizabeth has a brand new world-class stadium - the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. The five-tier Nelson Mandela Bay stadium has a seating capacity of 44,000 with an additional 4000 temporary seats available for the 2010 Football World Cup.

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium cost around R2.1 billion to build. The eye-catching roof was specially designed to withstand Port Elizabeth's notoriously high wind speeds, and the stadium is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and two huge viewing screens. The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth is located two kilometres from the coast, close to the N2 highway and no more than fifteen minutes drive from Port Elizabeth hotels making it convenient for the players and officials.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium will host the match for third place , and a quarter-final amid a total of eight matches during the FIFA World Cup. The stadium has an eye-catching, unique roof-structure and a spectacular view, overlooking the North End Lake. Before the construction of this multi-purpose venue, all international football matches were played at the Eastern Province rugby stadium, the EPRU Stadium. The playing field is going to be of natural grass with the outer /surrounding area to be artificial turf. One of its first major test events was the coveted Soweto Derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs - a game that attracts capacity crowds in South Africa.

Mbombela Stadium The Mbombela Stadium is one of the newly-built stadia for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ and it takes its name from the local municipality which incorporates the city of Nelspruit. Mbombela is siSwati (one of the 11 official languages in South Africa) and literally means 'many people together in a small space.'

The stadium, with a capacity of 46,000, is located in the city of Nelspruit in Mpumalanga Province. It is situated approximately seven kilometers from the city centre and 12 kilometers from the nearby Kruger-Mpumalanga Airport. The ground also enjoys a close proximity to various game parks, giving spectators the opportunity to see the wildlife during rest days.

The Mbombela comes as a welcome addition to football life in Nelspruit, and will leave a legacy of the beautiful game for all the people of Mpumalanga. Before the Stadium's construction, Nelspruit had no top football venue to host international matches.

Peter Mokaba Stadium The Peter Mokaba Stadium is situated in Polokwane (previously known as Pietersburg), the capital of Limpopo, South Africa. This stadium will be the first world class football venue in the soccer mad province of Limpopo. Four two tier stands bring the seating capacity to 46,000 - a massive increase on the old stadium, which comprises only a main stand and three grass banks.

The design of the largely concrete structure is inspired by the locally iconic Baobab tree, with the steel structure supporting the roof plane gathered together at each corner of the stadium and supported by giant ‘trunk' structures which accommodate vertical circulation ramps and service cores.

The stadium was built next to the old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane in the Limpopo Province. The newly-built Peter Mokaba stadium is situated approximately 5km from the city centre, with a total seating capacity of 45,000.

Royal Bafokeng Stadium The Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace is one of the stadiums for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The stadium is named after the Bafokeng people who live in the area.

In 1999, the Bafokeng won a legal battle, which entitled them to 20% on the platinum which is mined on their historical land. Hence, they have shares in platinum mining in the area. Upon completion, the stadium will seat 42,000.

The South African national team played a FIFA World Cup qualifying game against Bakino Faso in 2001, and won 2-1. It has been host to many Premier Soccer League games despite Rustenburg not having its own team. The capacity of the stadium was increased to 42,000 with the construction of two additional rows of seating on the second level. New electronic scoreboards, floodlights and a new public address system completed the requirements for it to host the first and second round matches of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Loftus Versfeld Stadium In the city of Tshwane (Pretoria), Loftus Versfeld is situated 5 km from the city centre. To qualify for selection as a first and second round venue the floodlights, sound system and scoreboard at Loftus Versfeld were upgraded and designated media areas were constructed in the lower level of the west stand. Loftus is the homeground of the Sundowns Football Club, one of South Africa’s premiere professional clubs. Since 1977 Loftus Versfeld has undergone many renovations and its four major stands have been completely rebuilt.

It has hosted many significant matches including during the 1995 Rugby World Cup and 1996 CAF African Cup of Nations. It is now used by Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United as their home ground.

Loftus boasts the country's finest corporate hospitality facilities and will only have to undergo minimal upgrades in order to meet FIFA's stringent requirements for the 2010 FIFA™ World Cup in South Africa.