2010 World Cup City Preview: Pretoria

Because it is likely that I cannot tell you a single thing about some of the teams in the World Cup, I will resort to a different World Cup Preview. Instead of taking a look at the teams playing in the World Cup, over the next month before the Cup begins, I will preview each of the 9 cities playing host to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Next up, Pretoria!
Population: 2,345,908

Province: Gauteng

Average Temperature in June: High: 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 Celcius). Low: 44 degrees Fahrenheit (7 Celcius).

Average Precipitation in June: .30 inches (7.6 mm)

Brief History: Pretoria was originally founded as a farm in 1855. The name of that farm: Pretoria Philadelphia. I kid you not. But when it became time to turn the farm into a town, they decided to drop the "Philadelphia" part of the name and name it Pretoria. When the British annexed South Africa in the late 1800s, they made Pretoria the capital of the Transvaal Colony.

Once South Africa was completely unified by the British, Pretoria was named the capital of the South African Republic. During the Boer Wars, Pretoria was a highly featured city. The treaty to end the first Boer War was signed in Pretoria. Before the Second Boer War, numerous forts were built in order to protect the city. In fact, during the Second Boer War, Winston Churchill was actually imprisoned in Pretoria. After the wars when the British ruled the Union of South Africa, they turned Pretoria into the administrative capital of the whole Union (as opposed to just the Transvaal Colony), a title that it still holds today, only minus that whole part about the British. Yes, Pretoria is modern day executive capital of South Africa. But back then, Pretoria was given the image of "capital of Apartheid South Africa." So yeah, this city can bring back some rather unkind memories for the South African people.

There is a current controversy and that involves, of all things, the naming of the city. There is currently a movement to change the name of the city from Pretoria to "Tshwane", which is currently the name of the metropolitan municipality in Pretoria. The idea here is to get the whole area currently under the name Pretoria to be called Tshwane, and not just the one sector of the city. The Afrikaners have been protesting it and while are already beginning to refer to the whole city as Tshwane, nothing is official yet and the issue remains very controversial in Pretoria.

United States Sister City: Washington D.C.

Venue: Loftus Versfeld Stadium

Originally opened in 1906, Loftus Versfeld Stadium has undergone quite a few name changes between now and then. Today, it's capacity is 51,762 and is used as both a soccer and a rugby venue. Recently, Loftus Versfeld Stadium was one of the 4 venues used in the FIFA Confederations Cup. It played host to the Group B matches between USA and Italy, USA and Brazil, and Brazil and Italy.

World Cup games being played at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
June 13: Group D: Serbia vs. Ghana
June 16: Group A: South Africa vs. Uruguay
June 19: Group E: Cameroon vs. Denmark
June 23: Group C: United States vs. Algeria
June 25: Group H: Chile vs. Spain
June 29: Round of 16: Group F Winner vs. Group E Runner-Up

And lastly, some photos of Pretoria!