The 2010 World Cup is the 19th FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) World Cup.

Upcoming FIFA events include the December 4 (2009) Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

The international tournament for football (or what Americans call soccer) will be held June 11 through July 11, 2010.  The host county automatically qualifies for the tournament, but South Africa will participate in the qualifying rounds to qualify for the 2010 African Cup of Nations. 

Three countries bid to host World Cup 2010: Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa.  South Africa was announced as the host country in Switzerland, May 2004. 32 teams from around the world will compete during the World Cup.

FIFA World Cup 2010 Venues

• Johannesburg--The Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg is to undergo a major upgrade for the 2010 tournament, with a new design inspired by traditional African pottery and a revamped capacity for 94,700 football fans. The stadium will hold the final and opening matches, five first-round matches, one second-round match and one quarter-final. Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg is to undergo minor upgrades for 2010. It has a capacity of 60,000 and will host five first-round matches, one second-round and one quarter-final match.
• Rustenburg, 100 miles from Johannesburg--The Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, North West Province, is to be upgraded, increasing its capacity to 42,000. It will host five first-round matches and one in the second round.
• Pretoria, 40 miles from Johannesburg--Loftus Versveld Stadium in Pretoria is to undergo minor upgrades for 2010. It has a capacity of 45,000 and will host five first-round matches and one in the second round.
• Polokwane, 200 miles from Johannesburg--Artist's impression of the 45,000-seat Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Limpopo Province. It will be specially built for 2010 and host four first-round matches.  The stadium is named after the late Peter Mokaba, a political activist during apartheid.  Mokaba was born and raised in Polokwane.  The largest number of registered football players lives in the Limpopo Province.
• Nelspruit, 220 miles from Johannesburg--Artist's impression of the 46,000-seat Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga Province. It will be specially built for 2010 and host four first-round matches.  The rounded-rectangular shape was designed to give every seat the best angle of the playing field.  The stadium will be conveniently located between the city center and the airport and close to the nearby game parks.
• Durban, 350 miles from Johannesburg--The Durban Stadium in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, is to be specially built for 2010, with a capacity of 70,000.  There will be two large archways over the stadium roof. It will host five first-round matches, one second-round, and one semifinal match.
• Port Elizabeth, 660 miles from Johannesburg--Artist's impression of the 50,000-seat Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape.  It will be built on the North End Lake and have three-tiers of seats with two rings of skyboxes.  It is to be specially built for 2010 and will host five first-round matches, one second-round match, one quarter-final and the third-place playoff.
• Cape Town, 870 miles from Johannesburg--Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town, Western Cape, is to be specially built for 2010 with a retractable roof and a capacity of 70,000. It will host five first-round matches, one second-round, one quarter-final and one semifinal match.  The stadium is nestled between the mountains of Cape Town and the ocean.
• Bloemfontein, 250 miles from Johannesburg--The Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, Free State Province, is to undergo a major upgrade, with the addition of a second tier increasing its spectator capacity to 45,000. It will host five first-round matches and one in the second round.

Tickets

• The first phase of ticket sales began February 20 and closed the end of March, 2009.  A random draw was then held on April 15.
• Individual tickets for the 64 matches are on sale, as well as team-specific tickets.  These are available for your country of choice and will follow three to seven games.
• Only tickets in Categories 1-3 are available to non-Africans.  Category 4 tickets are being made affordable and available only to residents.
• There will be four more ticket sale phases, the next one running from May 4 to November 19.  Tickets will be distributed based on availability and the order in which the application was received.  No random draw tickets will be awarded for over-subscribed events.
• Phase Three is similar to Phase One.  Running from December 5, 2009 to January 22, 2010.  All applications will receive tickets.  Those requested tickets to over-subscribed events will enter a random draw taking place in February 2010.
• Phase Four is first-come, first-serve based on ticket availability.  Phase Four ticket sales are open February 9 to April 7, 2010.
• The final ticket phase is April 15 to July 11, 2010.  Tickets for any available, remaining matches will be sold.
  
  Hospitality
  Please write us to talk about your hospitality needs for FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Whether you want to wine and dine some of your VIP clients or you want to offer an incentive vacation for your staff, Ludus can assist you with the creation of an appropriate package.
  
  
  
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