Royal Bafokeng Stadium

The Royal Bafokeng Stadium is located in the South African city of Rustenburg and is named after the Bafokeng, a rich and prosperous local tribe. The stadium was recently renovated for the purpose of hosting the FIFA World Cup matches. A sum of roughly around $48 million was spent on upgrading the stadium to its present standards. It now boasts of a new cantilever roof, floodlights, a scoreboard and an extended main stand. The Royal Bafokeng Stadium, in a way, resembles a South American bowl, but with an athletic track, may not promise to be great for the sport of football. Fans of the game will not get a great view of the action on the pitch due to the presence of the athletic track.

The Royal Bafokeng Stadium was sponsored in its entirety by the successful Royal Bafokeng Community and is home to the Platinum Stars, a popular South African football team. For the fans, the organizers and authorities have provided hubs to park cars in. These parking hubs are located on the main roads that lead to Rusty, spectators, on match days, will be expected to get into buses that will ferry them to the stadium. Buses will also traverse from downtown Rustenburg areas to the Royal Bafokeng Stadium. The Royal Bafokeng Stadium, on a match day, can play host to  a capacity crowd of around 44,000 fans.

The stadium is mostly remembered for hosting the 2001 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between Bakino Faso and the national team of South Africa. The South Africans went on to win 2-1 against Bakino Faso. Apart from this match, the Royal Bafokeng Stadium has played host to a myriad Premier Soccer League games. The 2010 FIFA World Cup will see the Royal Bafokeng Stadium host five group matches and a second-round clash.

 

 

The schedule for the matches to be held at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium is given below.