Sunday, January 10, 2010

The Five First-Round Cities

This post takes a look at the five hot cities hosting only first-round matches during the World Cup.

Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Polokwane and Rustenburg are all at high altitude. The first three could be bitterly cold at night during the tournament although Rustenburg has mild, sunny, southern hemisphere winters. Nelspruit is in the hot, dry lowveldt and should be comfortable.

Most of the World Cup managers are thought to be planning training camps around Pretoria, Rustenburg, Bloemfontein and Johannesburg to prepare their players for the thinner air.

First round venues for 2010 World Cup
Independent Online
November 30, 2009