Located in Mpumalanga province, the Mbombela stadium is a zebra-patterned treat. The black and white striped seating is encased in a more conservative blockish stadium with a bold, solid look and stylistic giraffe-like roof supports jutting out around the perimeter, making it the safari lovers’ stadium of choice.
Newly built for this tournament, it will go on to be the regional home of football for the area and will be part of a larger sporting complex that will host various football and rugby games, although no single club will be moving in.
Only hosting four group games, Australia and New Zealand will be visiting, taking on Serbia and Italy respectively. There’s also an intriguing match-up between North Korea and the Ivory Coast and the Latin clash of Honduras and Chile which should be heated. In the local language siSwati Mbombela means ‘many people together in a small space’, an apt epithet for this compact venue.
City: Nelspruit
Construction: New
Complete: 2009
Official Capacity: 43,589
The Locale : The District
The Mpumalanaga province extends to the border of South Africa and Mozambique, and is the home of the world famous Kruger National Park. Nelspruit itself, however, is notable mainly for its efficient travel connections. As a local commercial centre it’s more used to housing travelling businessmen than game-ready football fans although much has been done to make it more appealing. And, if Nelspuit itself looks a bit on the dull side the seven kilometre trek from the city centre to the stadium at least means you’ll see a bit of the local scene.
Regardless, what Nelspruit may lack as a tourist destination in its own right, it more than makes up for with its excellent regional sights to see. If you find yourself there, you’re already a bit off the beaten track, so you can either get in and out quickly or disappear into countryside for intimate encounters with leopards, elephants and more.
Local Sights to See: If you’re going to the stadium you should check out…
Kruger National Park is the most obvious sight in this region, but it’s a fair way from Nelpruit and outside the scope of a between match trip. Nelspruit in any case does have more local attractions.
Chimpanzee Eden, just ten kilometres out of town is surely worth a trip. Set up by the Jane Goodall institute, it re-homes, rehabilitates and protects Chimps. Conjuring up images of a cross between big brother and a half-way house, you can meet chimps like the 2-year-old female Azie who’s described as a ‘feisty little chimp’ who ‘definitely knows how to stand her ground, especially when food’s involved.’
Things to avoid
This may sound preachy, it may even sound obvious, but you cannot ignore the threat from above. If you’re from northern latitudes you’re unlikely to have encountered sun as strong as you will in South Africa and it can hurt you surprisingly quick, even in the winter if the temperatures are unseasonably high.
Believe you me, sunstroke or heat exhaustion will spoil your fun within an hour if you’re not careful. Wear a shirt, wear a hat, use plenty of sun block and drink lots of water. This is not the place to try and get a tan, as you will soon tell when you see the white natives who think differently!
Games to be played there:
June 16th: Group H – Hondura vs Chile
June 20th: Group F – Italy vs New Zealand
June 23rd: Group D – Australia vs Serbia
June 25th: Group G– Korea DPR vs Ivory Coast
