Travelling Around Africa: Which Sports Stadiums Should You Visit?

Every season is a sports season when you can tour famous and historic stadiums. Whether you are into football, rugby, racing or anything in between, some of the most scenic sports destinations are waiting to be seen right in your backyard.

What is your favourite must-see sports stadium? What historic game do you want to relive or home turf do you wish to visit? See if they make our top 6 list!

Greenpoint Stadium

Located in scenic Cape Town, South Africa, Greenpoint Stadium is a historic location specifically built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Though Spain came out on top that year, Africa has been forever gifted with this beautiful 120 x 68m grass court. Perfect for football and rugby matches, this area can house a maximum of 64,100 people, but recently reduced to just over 58,000.

The Cape Town Stadium is the perfect tourist destination for sports, sights, and tourism, with a scenic view of Table Mountain and the glowing waterfront. Be sure to put it on your must-see list next time you are in the area. Check out this must-visit destination on your next sports seeing adventure, and enjoy entertainment like you can from these great betting sites Africa offers.

Moses Mabhida Stadium

Multi-use stadiums are great for sports and vacation fun. Do you want to watch a football or rugby match, or maybe enjoy some bungee jumping by the beachfront? All this and more can be done at Moses Mabhida Stadium, located in Durban, South Africa.

With a capacity of up to 75,000, the Moses Mabhida stadium hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup, A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, 2013 AFCON and more. It was built in 2006 with architecture inspired by the Wembley Stadium arch. Moses Mabhida’s iconic arch of this stadium makes it a popular tourist venue for anyone visiting South Africa.

Phakisa Freeway

Formerly known as the Goldfields Raceway, the Phakisa Freeway is a classic oval speedway perfect for racing fans worldwide. It was opened in 1999 and later hosted the FIM Motorcycle World Championship in 2004 and is a popular destination for the Touring Car series.

Located in Odendaalsrus, this Freeway has a road course, speedway, and short circuit and can house over 60,000 people. It’s also one of a few courses in a world with a classic oval track. Though it hasn’t seen much action in recent years, Phakisa Freeway remains a great pitstop for African racing fans.

Mbombela Stadium

Built specifically for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Mbombela Stadium is a nearly 50,000 capacity all-seater venue. Otherwise known as the house of the Puma’s, this stadium is located near the capital of Mpumalanga. It’s the largest venue in the province, hosting both rugby and football matches.

This stadium keeps seats packed tight, but almost all are housed under a roof, shielding fans and tourists from the weather. Though mostly used by the Puma’s, it still hosts games for the South African tour and AFCON games.

Ellis Park Stadium

Though the 2010 FIFA World Cup built many great stadiums, Ellis Park Stadium was already built and ready to host 60,000 excited fans. Otherwise known as Emirates Airline Park, this area focuses on rugby and football and has hosted historic matches like the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final and various FIFA Cup games.

Several teams have called Ellis Park home, including the Lions and Golden Lions. This stadium dates back to 1927 and has seen many famous players and games in its run. This makes Ellis Park perfect for sports fans and history buffs alike.

FNB Soccer City

The First National Bank stadium goes by many names, perfect for its record-breaking reputation. FNB, Calabash, or more commonly Soccer City, broke ground in 1986 and holds the largest capacity of any arena in South Africa. Over 94,000 fans have come to watch World Cup and AFCON games.

Soccer City Is a sight to be had in Johannesburg, with stunning architecture and a convenient location right in the heart of the city.  It’s not famous for just sports, though, as it has housed many special guests and services over the years. Thanks to its size, reputation, and amazing views, this stadium is a must-see for all sports lovers.

Pixabay

Where to Visit First?

From the huge capacity of Soccer City to the breathtaking arch of Moses Mabhida Stadium, there is no bad venue to visit for a sports fan. Whether you love racing, rugby, football or simply a tour of the scenic locales, this list will bring you through all the must-see sporting destinations of South Africa and beyond.

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About us

Actually, Home Food and Travel offers a lot more than just reviews of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.  We also visit great destinations, receive advice from interior designers and stop to smell the roses and taste the coffee.

Our team of journalists are seasoned travels and love visiting the myriad of exciting places around South Africa.  Whether it is off the beaten track or in the heart of the top attractions of the country, we’ll be there,

Home Food and Travel advice on finding the right accommodation

So what is the right accommodation?  Well more often than not, it’s your travel budget that dictates the type of accommodation that you choose. 

Expensive is not always better.  Our team at Home Food and Travel will tell you that they have camped in areas with limited ablutions and had a wonderful holiday.  They have also spent a night in a five star hotel only to be disappointed because their expectations exceeded the experience.

The reason for your travels will also affect your choice.  A business trip requires different amenities to a beach holiday. 

Our articles, reviews and experiences can certainly help you make your decision.

Restaurants with a good mix of service, food and ambiance

To my mind a great restaurant offers three things – excellent service, great food and a wonderful ambiance.  Of these, service is the most important. 

No matter that the food is delicious and the setting delightful, poor service can ruin the occasion.  However, great service combined with mediocre meal and a plane jane restaurant can still be a pleasant night out.

We’ve eaten in restaurants that are really dirty but with incredible food and couldn’t help but give a rave review.  We’ve also hardly noticed what we ate because the setting was just amazing.

However, the best restaurants come with the best of service, food and ambiance.

Spas are the ultimate relaxation aid

How do you know when you have had a great spa experience?  The answer, of course, is when you doze off on the treatment table. 

Well that’s our theory anyway.  It also doesn’t take a grand location with enormous facilities for a spa to be really good

A small, personal spa that is owner run can result in the best massage you have ever experienced.  However, the grand spas in five star hotels offer unsurpassed facilities in an environment that just makes the stress in your shoulders and neck melt away before you even finish checking in.

Adventure!

You don’t have to be an adrenaline junky to enjoy an exciting experience.  In fact, what are commonly termed adventure activities usually have incredibly high safety standards and unblemished safety records.

Ziplining, bungy jumping and shark cage diving are all very safe.  It’s just that our mind tells us we are craaazzzzyyyy to be doing this.

On the road to great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities

If you’re driving, be safe and make use of all the wonderful farm stalls that populate South Africa’s open roads.

If you overhear somebody asking a lot of questions or see someone taking photos of empty bedrooms chances are it’s one of our Home Food and Travel team members.

We’re out looking or those great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.

See you on the road!

 

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