South Africa World Cup 2010Soccer in Cape Town
The South Africa World Cup 2010 is coming closer and closer, now it is less than half a year to kick-off in June 2010. So it is time to give you a rough idea about Soccer in South Africa and an overview of the Fan Parks in Cape Town. Cape Town is preparing for a great show. The Mother City has got such a friendly atmosphere, happy people, great attractions and the best soccer fans that you just will have to come and experience the South Africa World Cup 2010 in Cape Town .
Soccer in South AfricaSoccer in South Africa is one of the most popular sport in the country.The South African children love to kick the ball and there are plenty of soccer fields and lots of football clubs here. Even in the townships, where there is restricted space and funds you will see the kids enjoy playing football matches or watching their favorite team on television. Going to see an actual soccer match in the stadium is an experience which is quite unique. The South African love to paint their faces in bright colours, wear makarabas swinging huge flags, hooting their vuvuzelas and there will be cheerful fans all around.
Go to my South Africa Football A - Z with interesting facts and South African soccer lingo. The South Africans are very proud to host the FIFA Soccer Worldcup 2010 in the country. There are massive preparations going ahead here and I am very confident that the South Africa World Cup will become a huge success. Even if the South African National Soccer Team Bafana-Bafana is not one of the strongest team in the competition the Capetonians are chuffed to have won the bid to stage the world event. Cape Town World Cup: Cape Town Stadium in Green Point
In December 2008 the stadium has been completed and the new GreenPoint stadium will have its official opening in January 2009.
See how the Stadium looks like today and read all about the events at Cape Town Stadium in 2010. The location of this stadium is very special, being so close to the Atlantic Ocean and to the V&A Waterfront as well, with all the amenities for fans nearby. There are many new hotels and restaurants opening up in the area and this Cape Town suburb will get quite a boost with the increasing tourism too. Although there are some voices that are talking about the massive waste of public money which could go into more affordable housing instead of the building of the stadium, nothing can help the country to get stronger as a nation in my view. The upgrade of the infrastructure being another big plus of the South Africa World Cup which should be mentioned. Worldcup 2010Last worldcup 2006 in Germany I remember all to well, being a German expat back for a home visit at that time in Munich my hometown. The atmosphere in the German cities was quite something.There were loads of different people from many different places around the world living and partying together for the month the World Cup took place. That was a really special atmosphere. Everywhere we went we met foreigners, well soccer fans, happy ones mostly who enjoyed the great atmosphere in our German cities. In Germany for the first time the organizers had made use of massive soccer fan parks, where the soccer games were transmitted to the fans via huge television screens. And with huge I mean HUGE, like the screens you see at the big open-air concerts. These fan parks were everywhere all over the towns and cities, from the airport to the beer gardens like the one at the Mainufer in Frankfurt. What is better than watching a good match and enjoying great food and drink and the company of other like-minded people? And now it looks like I will be lucky again, as the worldcup 2010 will be staged in Cape Town as one of the Fifa Soccer 2010 venues. I am looking forward to this great spirit once again. The Worldcup 2010 is hosted in South Africa by the following cities: Bloemfontein/Mangaung, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Nelspruit, Port Elizabeth/Nelson Mandela Bay, Pretoria/Tshwane, Polokwane and Rustenburg. Each of the cities will not only show the matches in the official World cup stadium but also there will be huge stages at the official and secondary fan parks. Cape Town's Official Fan Park: Grand ParadeIn Cape Town there are also fenced and secured fan parks being installed which conform to the Fifa World Cup Standards, i.e. where there will be no entry fee, food and beverage will be available at these parks and all the matches will be aired on big stages.The Grand Parade in the center of town will be the official fan park for the Greenpoint Stadium matches. This area will be big enough to entertain 25,000-30,000 soccer fans during the South Africa World Cup.
The Grand Parade which until recently last year was used for daily markets, parking and politicall rallies is now undergoing a massive upgrade for 2010. This Grand Parade is an important place in South African History, as it is here where Nelson Mandela held his first speech to the people of Cape Town after his inauguration in May 1994. Read Mandela’s speech here. To complement the official fan park, of which every city in South Africa which hosts matches has got one, there are additional secondary fan parks to be opened.
Other big South Africa World Cup Fan ParksThese secondary fan parks will be located at:• Bellville Velodrome (space for 8,000 fans) • Athlone Hickory Sport Fields (for 15,000 fans) • Swartklip Sport Complex (for 15,000 fans) At these secondary 2010 fan parks, the matches of the South African National Soccer Team Bafana-Bafana will be show and all knock-out games. If you want to stay informed and get my Cape Town Insider Tips, please bookmark this page to get updates about the South Africa World Cup 2010 and subscribe to my ExpatCapeTown Newsletter here.
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