2010 Soccer world cup stadiums:
Stadium Name | City | Capacity | Altitude |
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Soccer City stadium | Johannesburg | 94,700 |
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Green Point Stadium | Cape Town | 70,000 |
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Durban Stadium | Durban | 70,000 |
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Ellis Park Stadium | Johannesburg | 61,000 |
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Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium | Port Elizabeth | 48,000 |
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Loftus Versfeld Stadium | Pretoria | 50,000 |
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Free State Stadium | Bloemfontein | 48,000 |
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Mbombela Stadium | Nelspruit | 46,000 |
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Peter Mokaba stadium | Polokwane | 46,000 |
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Royal Bafokeng Stadium | Rustenburg | 42,000 |
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Information about South African stadiums:
1. Soccer City Stadium: Host opening game (South Africa Vs Mexico), final match, one quarterfinal game, one last 16 match and another 4 league matches
2. Green Point stadium: It is also called as “Cape Town stadium.” It will host one semi-final, one quarterfinal, one last 16 match and some league games. You can see “Table Mountain” from here.
3. Durban stadium: It will host one semi-final, one last 16 match and some league games. Durban is a favourite city for Indians.
4. Nelson Mandela stadium: One quarterfinal, one last 16 match and some league games. Nelson Mandela is a legend and is one of greatest leaders in 20th century.
5. Ellis park stadium: One quarterfinal, one last 16 match and 5 league games.
6. Loftus Versfeld is a Rugby legend in South Africa. Pretoria stadium was named in his honour.
Effect of high altitude:
At high altitudes, there is fall in atmosphere pressure. But, Oxygen is still around 21-23%. But, oxygen that enters into lungs per each inspiration (breath intake) will fal. Due to fall in Oxygen intake, heart rate and respiratory rate will increase. So, footballer can tire (fatigue) due to energy sapping. So, we may see more turnarounds in second half due to this fatigue.
Footballers suffer from dehydration, energy sapping, headache and breathing problems at high altitudes. Teams with bench stength (world class substitutes) may perform well in 2010 world cup.
Ex. Great teams of Brazil and Argentina fared poorly against weak Bolivian squad at high altitude stadiums in Bolivia.
Argentina won 1986 world cup (Mexico) - last world cup that was held at high altitude stadiums.
