The Sports Life

Soccer World Cup 2010

In less than 840 days 32 of the world's top soccer teams will take part in the 2010 Federation Internationale de Football Associations (FIFA) soccer world cup, hosted in South Africa - the first time the cup will be hosted by an African nation.

However, this is not about the Soccer world cup as such, but about the expected over one billion people expected to closely follow the progress of the 32 teams who will battle it out in a month long tournament.

Uppermost in everybody's who intend attending the various events minds must be the questions: "What is South Africa like? Will it be safe to go there?

First of all, South Africa is a big piece of real estate, and games will be staged all over the country to give a balanced exposure to all it's inherent charms and possibilities.

When visiting South Africa, you will most probably land at Oliver Tambo International (formerly Jan Smuts Airport) in Johannesburg, where the games will be hosted at Ellis Park stadium. Johannesburg is the financial "engine room" of South Africa. It's alive and vibrant, full of energy and drive. It is situated in the north of the country and is well known for mild, dry winters and long, hot summers.

From Johannesburg you can travel with the new Gau-train to the city of Pretoria - about half-an-hour further inland. Here the world cup will be hosted at Loftus Versfeldt; famous for great rugby games that took place here between various international teams through the years.

Moving further north will bring you to the town of Rustenburg where teams will compete in the Royal Bafokeng stadium. The area is famous for it's platinum mines.

From there you can visit Nelspruit with its new Mbombela stadium. From here a visit to the famous Kruger National Park is just the proverbial stone's throw away.

The Peter Mokaba stadium in the far north of the country, in Polokwane will most probably be your last stop in the upper regions of the country.

The next on the menu is the City of Bloemfontein with it's famous Free State Stadium. Bloemfontein is centrally situated in the middle of the country, and is one of those places that just grow on you.

From there you will most probably fly to Durban in Kwa Zulu Natal and watch the games in the new Durban stadium. Durban is a coastal city, with a hot, humid sub-tropical flavour, where the fun never stops.

Next along the coast will be Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth where the soccer tornament will be played in the beautiful Port Elizabeth stadium.

At last you will reach Cape Town - called "the fairest Cape in all the world" by Sir Francis Drake. Games are to take place in the newly constructed Green Point Stadium, built on the historic Green Point commons.

Coming to the nagging question of "will it be safe to go there" you must realize that crime in South Africa is a problem - a problem being addressed by the authorities and police services. If you act sensibly and avoid obvious dangerous places you should be safe. A certain criminal element do tend to target overseas tourists (most probably because they know the value of the Dollar and the Pound Sterling!) but once again, if you take the necessary safety precautions and work with the authorities, you and yours should be safe. Obviously, a heavy police presence will be maintained at all venues.

Lastly, if you are still looking for a play to stay in South Africa during that time, please feel free to click on the link below, and have a look at the available accommodation. With the South African Rand at a low, it may be worthwhile booking and paying now.

See you in 2010 in our wonderful sunny South Africa!

Go to www.margate-forum.co.za for a place to stay when visiting South Africa

The author is a well known commentator on South African blogs and forums, often with an off-beat and humouristic viewpoint. His website can be viewed at http://www.margate-forum.co.za

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