Mbombela stadium (Mpumalanga) |
The Mbombela stadium is a rounded, rectangular shaped stadium situated 6km west of Nelspruit in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa.
Fixture list for World Cup
16 Jun |
20 Jun |
23 Jun |
25 Jun |
Honduras 0 |
Italy 1 |
Australia 2 |
North Korea 0 |
Map centred on the Mbombela Stadium
Bulldozing of a wetland
Because a school was situated on the site where the Mbombela Stadium was built, the school needed to be relocated. A wetland in Nelspruit was bulldozed to make way for a new temporary site for the school (no environmental impact assessment was done before the bulldozers moved into the wetland). On 15 Oct 2009 over 100 protestors gathered at the Mbombela Stadium to protest that a new school had not yet been built.
Position of stadium
The stadium is situated on community-owned land in Mataffin,7km north of Nelspruit.
Artists' impressions of the Mbombela stadium
Cost of stadium
The stadium was expected to cost some R600 million. Mr Makwetla, Mpumalanga's premier said that "National government has made an undertaking to provide the financial resources pertaining to the 2010 world cup infrastructure requirements". South Africa's Government has already (May 2006) allocated R242 million towards planning for the stadia.
Capacity
Capacity is 40 000.
Local training venues
Ackerville Stadium |
Kanyamazane Stadium |
Kwa-Guga Stadium |
Kwanazema Stadium |
Matsulu Stadium |
Valencia Stadium |
First match at the stadium
The first match at the Mbombela Stadium took place on the 16th May 2010, with South Africa beating Thailand 4-0, to equal their best winning margin ever (they also beat Chad 4-0 in 2007).
Hosting celebrations
To celebrate the decision to allow it to host some of the 2010 Soccer World Cup matches, the Mbombela municipality had 3 days of celebrations, which took place from 26-28 May - activities included soccer, basketball, volleyball, netball and wheelchair basketball.