Soccer Practice

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is awaited by the entire world. South Africa has emerges as the host for the 2010 world cup after a lot of debate, bidding and voting.. A lot is in stall on the soccer wall calendar 2010 with the first teams to compete being the host city-South Africa and Mexico.Many theorize that it would certainly end up being likely for the final world cup winners football game to have an African nation involved however this is yet to be seen. For the many who might not be able to eyewitness the tournament, you might be interested to knowing what kind of stadiums the football stars will be doing their soccer tricks. Actually South Africa took the opportunity to host the Cup very seriously and for the past four years  have been busy constructing the fantastic stadiums. The following are a few for all ‘soccerholics’:

*Moses Mabhida Stadium- constructed on the site of the former Kings Park Soccer Stadium, this teflon-coated, glass-fibre roofed stadium was officially opened on November 2009.

o Capacity: 70,000 o Location: Durban o Design: constructed to resemble the South African Flag.Has an arche with a highest point being 347 ft signifies the unity that now exists from a once devided country. Has a translucent glow if lit.
* Green Point Stadium- will  hold the first six round matches, one second-round, one quarter and one semifinal match.The original stadium was demolished and reconstruced in 2007.

o Capacity:70,000 o Location: Cape Town o Design: has a noise-reducing exterior cladding and is situated very near the ocean and has the mountains as a the backdrop. Has a retractable glass roof weighing 4,500-tons.

* Mbombela Stadium- derived from “Mbombela” which is the  siSwati word for  “many people together in a small space.” o Capacity: 40,000 o Location:Nelspruit o Design:  a very ‘wild’ looking stadium which gets inspiration from the many surrounding national parks. * Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium-Will be hosting five first round matches, one second round, one quarter final and the third place playoff. Name taken from the municipality name not the x-president Nelson Mandela.

o Capacity: 50 000 o Location:Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth o Design:nicknamed ‘the sunflower’ has a roof with a series of petal like looking structures.

* Soccer City Stadium- scheduled to hold all the main events both the opening and final match.The largest stadium in Africa.

o Capacity:94,500 o Location: Johannesburg o Design:very lit during the night and resembles an African pot.

With all these stadiums, this year is surely to be a Cup to remember. Doesn’t it just makes you want to book the next flight straight to the heart of Africa?

On Friday the 11th of June 2010 the whole of africa will join the many soccer fans worldwide as the day Africa comes to be the venue for the FIFA World Cup. For the past 80 years, the FIFA World Cup host nations have alternated between Europe and the Americas Exactly how is the venue for the cup decided upon?Currently, the policy for selection is that any country can bid to be the venue for the World Cup guaranteed that their continent hasn’t hosted it in the past two years making Africa a good candidate. South Africa nearly won the 2006 bidding against Germany with a final tally of 12 votes to 11. All countries that bid for the 2010 World Cup were African including South Africa, Morocco and Egypt. South Africa beat Morocco by 4 votes leading to this memorable event.Those are the ‘technical’ reasons why this years World Cup is being held in South Africa but is the country itself capable of holding such an event? If you’d ask me, I’d say they surely are, here are my  reasons:

* I love their team- it’s a fact, the definitely deserve to hold the cup. Wouldn’t holding the Cup in a country who’s team isn’t even that good be a total let down? Remember back in 1950,1978 and 1990 when Brazil, Argentina and Italy hosted the world cup? First class teams! If South Africa was added to the list, nobody would mind.

* Awesome stadiums-South Africa constructed four brand new stadiums just for the 2010  FIFA World Cup. There’s a jungle-inspired stadium with zebra like stripes, another with mind-blowing lighting, one with a detractable glass roof and yet another that was constructed to look like the South African flag. What more could you ask for?

* The perfect weather-  if there’s one thing South Africa is known for-aside from its wildlife, it would be the weather. The World Football Tournament coincides with South Africa’s winter time. Not to worry though, your favorite players won’t end up freezing to death since the winter temperature in South Africa is warmer than most countries summer temperature! Lower temperatures have been proved to be better for athlete’s bodies so the average expected temperature of 20 degrees Celsius at 12pm noon will be great. With good weather, we can expect better performance..

* The continent alone- soccer is no doubt in every African’s heart and Africa is known to be the place where civilization begun. So what better place to have countries from the four corners of the earth meet? More so since South Africa has used soccer as a means of unity and force against apartheid in  the Mandela era. Having Soweto be the venue for the finals will add meaning and make the even even more memorable for the reason that Soweto has been the heart of South African soccer.

In my opinion, no controversy in the past four years can change the  fact that South Africa is the best place for  the 2010 FIFA World Cup and everyone should be proud that for the first time in  history, Africa is holidng a sporting event this big.