The 19th FIFA World Cup will be held in South Africa from June 11 to July 11, 2010. And it is safe to say that the FIFA World Cup 2010 will be one of the most widely watched events in the world.
South Africa was chosen to host the FIFA World Cup 2010 after beating countries like Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco in the bidding. Tunisia bid as a co-host, but the FIFA Executive Committee decided not to allow co-hosting. The host country was decided way back in 2004, and along the years, many influential people had concerns over the preparations in South Africa for the mega event. But things have finally fallen into place, and we are hardly a couple of weeks away from the most awaited sports event, the FIFA World Cup 2010.
Venues for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
South Africa has pumped in billions to make sure the infrastructure was up to the mark for the event. 5 new stadiums were constructed, the 5 existing ones were upgraded, besides the transport system and security have also been fine tuned.
| Venue |
Stadium |
Capacity |
| Johannesburg |
Soccer City |
95,000 |
| Johannesburg |
Ellis Park Stadium |
63,000 |
| Durban |
Moses Mabhida Stadium |
70,000 |
| Cape Town |
Cape Town Stadium |
69,000 |
| Pretoria |
Loftus Versfeld Stadium |
52,000 |
| Port Elizabeth |
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium |
48,000 |
| Bloemfentein |
Free State Stadium |
48,000 |
| Polokwane |
Peter Mokaba Stadium |
46,000 |
| Rustenburg |
Royal Bafokeng Stadium |
45,000 |
| Nelspruit |
Mbombela Stadium |
44,000 |
FIFA World Cup 2010: Groups
| Countries – Group A |
 |
South Africa |
 |
Mexico |
 |
Uruguay |
 |
France |
|
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| Countries – Group B |
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Argentina |
 |
Nigeria |
 |
Korea Republic |
 |
Greece |
|
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| Countries – Group C |
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England |
 |
United States |
 |
Algeria |
 |
Slovenia |
|
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| Countries – Group D |
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Germany |
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Australia |
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Serbia |
 |
Ghana |
|
| Countries – Group E |
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Netherlands |
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Denmark |
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Japan |
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Cameroon |
|
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| Countries – Group F |
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Italy |
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Paraguay |
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New Zealand |
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Slovakia |
|
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| Countries – Group G |
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Brazil |
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Korea DPR |
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Côte d’Ivoire |
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Portugal |
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| Countries – Group H |
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Spain |
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Switzerland |
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Honduras |
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Chile |
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(Top 2 teams from each group qualify for the round of 16)
The FIFA World Cup 2010 will kick off with the match between the host nation South Africa vs Mexico on June 11, at Soccer City – Johannesburg. The final will be played at this same venue a month later on July 11. In the previous edition in 2006, Italy beat France on penalties to lift the cup, while Germany beat Portugal to take 3rd place. So who are you supporting this time round!!!
Posted in Soccer/Football