World Cup Football 2010 held on Mbombela Stadium in South Africa

Mbombela Stadium in South Africa

Name Mbombela Stadium
Year completed 2009
Cost US$145,000,000
Capacity 46,000
Home to To be confirmed

Trivia Work was delayed on the project as the land used was occupied by a school that had to be relocated first. The stadium has 1,030 toilets. Spectators at the front of the stands will be closer to the pitch than anywhere else at the tournament The new Mbombela Stadium is a 46,000-seater arena located 5km west of town in Mataffin. The Mbombela - which means 'many people in a small space' - has been nicknamed the 'Giraffe Stadium' because of the 18 roof supports designed to look like the inhabitants of Kruger National Park, one of Africa's largest game reserves. Just off the N4, access by car or bus should pose no problems. Organisers have designated four park-and-ride sites: Nelspruit Rugby Club, Nelspruit High School, Bergvlam High School and the Agricultural Research Centre. The Fan Park is set to be housed up at the Agri cultural Showgrounds.

Ellis Park (Coca-Cola Park) Stadium for World Cup 2010

Ellis Park (Coca-Cola Park) Stadium

Name Ellis Park (Coca-Cola Park)
Year completed 1928 (rebuilt in 1982)
Cost US$63,000,000 (renovations)
Capacity 62,567
Home to Orlando Pirates (football), Lions (rugby)

Trivia In 1955, over 100,000 watched the rugby match between South Africa and British Lions and, in 2005, it became the first black-owned stadium in the country The site of the 1995 Rugby World Cup final - when South Africa tore up the formbook to defeat New Zealand and Nelson Mandela famously donned a green Springbok shirt to present the trophy to home skipper Francois Pienaar - Ellis Park may be a shrine to the scrum and the ruck, but it is no stranger to football either. Orlando Pirates, where the likes of Mark Fish and Teko Modise have plied their trade, call the ground home.

Moses Mabhida Stadium Ready for World Cup Football 2010

World Cup Football 2010 - Moses Mabhida Stadium

Name Moses Mabhida Stadium
Year completed 2009
Cost US$200,000,000
Capacity 70,000 (54,000 post-tournament)
Home to To be confirmed

Trivia The stadium is built on the site of the old Kings Park Soccer Stadium, which was demolished in 2006 using 126kg of explosives. The multi-purpose venue includes an indoor arena, football museum, sports institute and a transport hub The Moses Mabhida Stadium, the venue for five group matches, one second-round game and a semi-final, is a sumptuous, newly-built 70,000 arena close to the Indian Ocean in the Stamford Hill district to the north of downtown. Along with the Green Point in Cape Town, this three-tier wonder is the most visually breathtaking of the World Cup 2010 venues, with its focal point being the Wembley-like arch, along which a cable car will run.

Cape Town Stadium for World Cup Football 2010

Stadium for World Cup Football 2010

Name Cape Town Stadium
Year completed 2009
Cost US$330,000,000
Capacity 68,000 (13,000 temporary)
Home to To be confirmed

Trivia During the planning stage, it was referred to by some as the African Renaissance Stadium and was then called the Green Point Stadium. The 37,000 sq m roof weighs 4,500 tons. The Cape Town Stadium, one of several venues built specially for the World Cup, has not had an easy birth. From the off, the project was mired in controversy, with protests that it was located in a predominantly white part of the city, and work was delayed several times by strikes over low wages paid to builders. Nevertheless, it was completed well ahead of schedule.

Free State Stadium for World Cup Football 2010

FOOTBALL STADIUM FOR WORLD CUP 2010

Name: Free State Stadium
Year completed 1952
Cost US$33,000,000 (upgrade)
Capacity 45,000

Home to Central Cheetahs, Free State Cheetahs (rugby), Bloemfontein Celtic (football) Trivia Building work was dogged by a series of strikes, the longest of which lasted a fortnight. It is also known as Vodacom Park.

The 45,000 capacity ground, which in total will host five group games and one second-round tie, will be rocking in June. The crackling atmosphere will be fuelled by the supporters of local side Bloemfontein Celtic, who sport distinctive green-and-white hooped shirts, just like their namesakes in Scotland.