Venue Description
The 45,000 capacity ground, which in total will host five group games and one second-round tie, will be rocking in June. The crackling atmosphere will be fuelled by the supporters of local side Bloemfontein Celtic, who sport distinctive green-and-white hooped shirts, just like their namesakes in Scotland. Built back in 1952 and a stage for games at the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the African Cup of Nations the following year, the stadium was the subject of a US$33 million renovation programme for 2010 that raised the capacity by 7,000. It included an extra tier of seats for the main (West) stand, new turnstiles and scoreboard, CCTV and upgraded floodlights and sound system. The ground forms part of an excellent multi-sport complex that additionally offers top-class cricket, tennis, athletics, swimming and hockey facilities. The football fans are considered the most passionate in the entire country and they showed as much at the 2009 Confederations Cup, jumping up and down, chanting relentlessly and blowing up a storm with their vuvuzela, the controversial long plastic horns so integral to the matchday experience in the republic.