In preparation of the FIFA World Cup of 2010, South Africa had to upgrade and build a variety of stadiums, and as a result, some of the most impressive stadiums hosted the soccer games. These included the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, Durban Stadium, Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, Cape Town Stadium, and two stadiums in Johannesburg; the Ellis Park and Soccer City. One of the most impressive stadiums is the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
Part of the preparation services also including a website created by the marketing council of the country to provide journalists with everything they need to know more about the country, which was vital in attracting more tourist during the world cup.
Polokwane’s Rugby Union and Football Stadium, The Peter Mokaba Stadium
The Peter Mokaba Stadium was built in Polokwane, which was previously known as Pietersburg in South Africa. It was built specifically for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and it has a 45,500 capacity. Although this capacity was reduced when used for the world cup matches to 41,733 as some of the areas were reserved for officials. The stadium is named after the former ANC Youth League leader Peter Mokaba.
The stadium is located only three kilometres from the Polokwane city centre and east of the older Peter Mokaba Stadium. It was one of five stadiums build from the ground just before the 2010 World Cup. Initially, the pans were to upgrade the already existing Peter Mokaba Stadium, although these plans were abandoned and a new stadium worth R1,245,000,000 ZAR was built only 3 km from the existing one.
The Peter Mokaba stadium was intensely used for training and matches, and it was decided to reinforce its natural grass with artificial fibres, which ensures the field offers a level and stable surface of Desso GrassMaster.
Matches Played During the 2010 FIFA World Cup at Peter Mokaba Stadium
Four matches took place at the stadium during the 2010 World Cup, which included 13 June, Algeria vs Slovenia and 30,325 fans attended. 17th June France vs Mexico attracted a crowd of 35,370. 22nd June Greece vs Argentina a match played in front of 38,891 fans and the last was on 24 June Paraguay vs New Zealand watched by 34,850.
Peter Mokaba Stadium Use
The first event ever hosted at the stadium was the Peter Mokaba Cup on the 23rd of January 2010. It was a friendly tournament played against four different teams, which also served as the opening or the brand-new stadium. The team’s part of the opening including Kaizer Chiefs, Brondby, Wits and Supersport United. The first international game that was hosted by the stadium was between Guatemala and South Africa on the 31st of May 2010 in which South Africa won. A few football matches took place on the 20th of November 2010 between Kaizer Chiefs and Telkom. When it comes to rugby the stadium hosted a rugby union match on the 30th of January 2010, it was a Super 14 warm-up for Lions and the Bulls.
