FIFA Soccer World Cup 2010 stadiums announced

The 10 soccer stadiums that will be used for the FIFA Soccer World Cup in 2010 have been announced.

There will be five new stadiums, while five existing stadiums will be upgraded for the world's most popular sporting event, said Deputy Sport and Recreation Minister Gert Oosthuizen at a media briefing in Cape Town on Monday. Three existing stadiums in South Africa's major metropolis, Gauteng, will be upgraded. These are Soccer City (FNB stadium), Ellis Park in Johannesburg, and Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. The Royal Bafokeng stadium in North West will be upgraded, as will Vodacom Park in Mangaung (Bloemfontein) in the Free State.

Five new stadiums will be built or rebuilt. In Limpopo, the Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane will host 2010 games.

New facilities
New stadiums will be built at Mbombela in Mpumalanga, and in the Nelson Mandela Metro (encompassing Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape. Kings Park stadium in Durban will be rebuilt for the event, becoming a multi-sports facility. In the Western Cape, Cape Town's Green Point stadium will be rebuilt, becoming a "totally new" multi-purpose sports facility complete with a dome that can be opened and closed. The dome is necessary for Cape Town's unpredictable weather, said Oosthuizen.

Local ownership
The government is now awaiting finalisation of the contracts with owners of the existing stadiums, while the five new structures will be owned by the relevant municipalities on behalf of the local citizens.
"The spread of the announced stadiums indicates that government acted swiftly to scrap the imbalance between rugby and soccer fields," said Oosthuizen. "Furthermore, we have tilted the ownership scales in respect of stadiums in favour of the people." Oosthuizen said the government had allocated R242-million for the construction of the stadiums.

'Winning nation'
"It is now for those in charge of football to play their part and to prepare a winning squad for the tournament." "Let me say that only their display of a committed effort and their full cooperation with government can redeem the disaster of failing to qualify for the... World Cup in Germany and the recent performance at the African Cup of Nations in Egypt," the deputy minister said. "What we need are people with selfless dedication to advertise our strengths as a winning nation."

Source: BuaNews

The German state of Bavaria is encouraging South African companies to attend a real estate trade fair in October 2006, saying it will attract investors in the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Hans Spitzner, Bavaria's deputy minister for economic affairs said that SA could benefit from experience Germany was gaining in staging the 2006 Football World Cup.

Specific areas of opportunity that could be triggered by the event included the development of shopping malls, entertainment venues and residential developments, he said. The 2010 Football World Cup is expected to generate billions of rands.

Australia is keen as well to share the experience gained in hosting the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

(source: Business Day / Chris Van Gass / 17 February 2005)

The 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup should boost tourism in Southern Africa, which is currently handicapped by its image as a war zone and the difficulties of travel within the region.

Shepherd Nyaruwata, the executive director of the Regional Tourism Organisation for Southern Africa, said: "There is a need to spruce up the image of the region."

Nyaruwata expected tourist numbers to peak from 14 million last year to 20 million during 2010, with some World Cup soccer fans going on from the soccer tournament in South Africa to visit neighbouring states such as Mozambique and Namibia.

(source: Business Report / Alfonce Mbizwo / 17 March 2005)