2010 World Cup City Preview: Nelspruit

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, Nelspruit!
Population: 221,474

Province: Mpumalanga

Average Temperature in June: High: 73 degrees Fahrenheit (23 Celcius). Low: 43 degrees Fahrenheit (6 Celcius).

Average Precipitation in June: .35 inches (9 mm).

Brief History: When South Africa submitted it's bid, this city was called Nelspruit at the time. But that has since changed, the city is now officially called Mbombela, but in order to avoid confusion, FIFA (and subsequently me) will refer to the city as Nelspruit both here and throughtout the rest of the World Cup. The city was not founded until 1905 and it was founded by the brothers Nel (gee, I wonder where the city name comes from?). During the Boer War, Nelspruit served as the capital of the South African Republic for a short period of time. Nelspruit is less known for its history and more so known for what it is today. For tourists traveling to Mozambique and Kruger National Park, Nelspruit is the big spotover point. When not connecting cities, Nelspruit is a pretty big city for agriculture and manufacturing and is the capital of the province Mpumalanga.

United States Sister City: None.

Venue: Mbombela Stadium.

People can never make things easy, now can they? The city they are playing in is officially Mbombela now, although for this month it will be referred to as Nelspruit, but just to make things difficult, the stadium is named Mbombela. As you might have figured by the name, Mbombela Stadium is a brand new stadium that was built specifically for the World Cup, but will be used for other events in the future. This stadium is actually similar to Qwest Field in that it is an outdoor stadium but there is a roof over the seats that will keep the majority of spectators dry in the case of a storm. The stadium is also designed to have the seats right on top of the action, so as to create a louder environment. And with the return of the dreaded vuvuzelas during the World Cup, they could certainly be a bigger distraction and annoyance than they already are in a stadium like Mbombela Stadium.

Games being played Mbombela Stadium:
June 16: Group H: Honduras vs. Chile
June 20: Group F: Italy vs. New Zealand
June 23: Group D: Australia vs. Serbia
June 25: Group G: North Korea vs. Ivory Coast

Lastly, here are some photos of Nelspruit.