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First National Bank Stadium or simply FNB Stadium ( af, ENB-stadion), also known as Soccer City ( af, Sokkerstad) and The Calabash, is an
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
(soccer) and
Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
stadium located in Nasrec, bordering the
Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a ...
area of
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
. The venue is managed by Stadium Management South Africa (SMSA) and is a home of Kaizer Chiefs F.C. in the South African Premier Soccer League as well as key fixtures for the
South African national football team The South Africa national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international soccer and it is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for Soccer in South Africa. The team's nickname is Bafana Bafana (The Boy ...
. It is located next to the
South African Football Association The South African Football Association (colloquially known as SAFA) is the national administrative governing body that controls the sport of football in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and is a member of the Confederation of African Footb ...
headquarters (''SAFA House'') where both the FIFA offices and the Local Organising Committee for the
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
were housed. Designed as the main
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
stadium for the World Cup, the FNB Stadium became the largest stadium in Africa with a capacity of 94,736. However, its maximum capacity during the 2010 FIFA World Cup was 84,490 due to reserved seating for the press and other VIPs. The stadium is also known by its nickname "The
Calabash Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...
" due to its resemblance to the African pot or gourd. It was the site of Nelson Mandela's first speech in Johannesburg after his release from prison in 1990, and served as the venue for a
memorial service A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
to him on 10 December 2013.''2010 FIFA World Cup – Soccer City''
In: ''fifa.com''. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
It was also the site of
Chris Hani Chris Hani (28 June 1942 – 10 April 1993), born Martin Thembisile Hani , was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of uMkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). He was a fierce ...
's funeral. It was also the venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final, which was played by the Netherlands and Spain. The World Cup closing ceremony on the day of the final saw the final public appearance of Mandela.


Naming history

The stadium has been officially known as FNB Stadium since it was opened in 1989. This was due to a
naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of ...
deal with First National Bank. During the
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
, as well as in the month before the tournament, the stadium was referred to as Soccer City. This was done as
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
does not allow stadiums to be referred to by sponsored names during FIFA-sanctioned tournaments. The stadium's current name is FNB Stadium.


Construction

Built in 1987, the stadium underwent a major upgrade for the
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
, with a new design inspired by the shape of an African pot, the
calabash Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...
. The South African main contractor GLTA, part of the Aveng Group in a joint venture with the Dutch company BAM who had a 25% stake, constructed the upgrade, which was designed by HOK Sport (now known as Populous) and Boogertman + Partners. The upgrade included: an extended upper tier around the stadium to increase the capacity to 88,958, an additional two executive suites, an encircling roof, new changing room facilities and new floodlights. The number of suites in the stadium was increased to 195. Grinaker-LTA and BAM international won the R1.5 billion tender to upgrade the stadium. The construction was completed on Wednesday, 21 October 2009 and was marked by a huge celebration at the stadium. File:South Africa-Johannesburg-Soccer City001.jpg, Construction work in progress at Soccer City in May 2008 File:South Africa-Johannesburg-Soccer City004.jpg, Construction work in progress at Soccer City in December 2008 File:FNB Stadium 2014-11-08.jpg, The completed Soccer City


Stadium design

The outside of the stadium is designed to have the appearance of an African pot; the cladding on the outside is a mosaic of fire and earthen colours with a ring of lights running around the bottom of the structure, simulating fire underneath the pot. No spectator is seated more than 100 metres (330 ft) from the field, and there are no restricted views in the stadium. The stands in the FNB Stadium are articulated by ten black vertical lines; nine are aligned geographically with the nine other stadiums involved in the 2010 World Cup. Because 9 is considered to be an unlucky number in South African traditional culture, a tenth line was added. This tenth line is aimed at Berlin's
Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
, which hosted the previous World Cup final in 2006. This represents the road to the final and it is hoped that after the World Cup, each goal scored at the stadium will be placed in pre-cast concrete panels on a podium so that the full history of the tournament's scores can be seen for years to come.


Before the upgrade

Before the upgrade, the stadium had a capacity of 40,000. The newly reconstructed stadium retains part of the original structure's west upper tier, although this and the entire lower tier were rebuilt to improve sightlines. The lower tier was completely reconstructed and divided into two segments which enabled the creation of a new lower concourse (the lower embankment concourse) linked to the existing ground level concourse.


Major tournaments


1996 African Cup of Nations

FNB Stadium served as the main venue for the tournament. It hosted the opening game, 5 other group games, a quarter final, a semi final, the 3rd place play-off and the final. The games were:


2010 FIFA World Cup

The stadium hosted the opening ceremony followed by the opening match between South Africa and Mexico, 4 other group stage matches, a Round of 16 match, a quarter-final and the final.


2013 African Cup of Nations

FNB Stadium served as a venue for the tournament. It hosted the opening game, one group game and the final. The games were: .


Football


International football

FNB stadium has been used by the
South African national football team The South Africa national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international soccer and it is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for Soccer in South Africa. The team's nickname is Bafana Bafana (The Boy ...
for both friendlies and qualification matches. It was seen as the de facto national stadium for Bafana Bafana after re-admission in 1992, who played their third ever international match there on 11 July 1992 where they drew 2–2 with Cameroon courtesy of goals from Phil and Bennett Masinga for South Africa in front of 65,000 supporters. The "old" FNB Stadium also housed the then South African Football Association (SAFA) headquarters as well as the offices of the semi-professional National Soccer League (which later traded as the professional Premier Soccer League). The stadium has also hosted large continental club fixtures. It is largely remembered as the venue where Bafana Bafana lifted the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations when they beat Tunisia 2–0 in front of a full capacity in a match witnessed by then South African president, Nelson Mandela, his then deputy president and former South African State President, FW de Klerk, as well as Zulu monarch, King Zwelithini. The South African national football team also won their first ever trophy here when they lifted the Simba Four Nations Cup in 1995, in a competition featuring Egypt, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The venue for the first leg of the
1995 African Cup of Champions Clubs The 1995 African Cup of Champions Clubs was the 31st edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region (Africa), the African Cup of Champions Clubs. It determined that year's club champion of association footba ...
final, between
Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DStv ...
and
ASEC Abidjan The Association Sportive des Employés de Commerce Mimosas, literally Mimosas Commerce Employees' Sporting Association, is an Ivorian football club based in Abidjan. The club is also known as ''ASEC Mimosas Abidjan'' and ''ASEC Abidjan'', especi ...
. The stadium has also hosted the
CAF Super Cup The CAF Super Cup (also known as African Super Cup or for sponsorship reasons TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup) is an annual African association football competition contested between the winners of the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation ...
twice. It hosted the
1994 CAF Super Cup The 1994 CAF Super Cup was the second CAF Super Cup, an annual football match in Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), between the winners of the previous season's two CAF club competitions, the African Cup of Champions ...
, between
Zamalek Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east a ...
and Al-Ahly, as well as the
1996 CAF Super Cup The 1996 CAF Super Cup was the fourth CAF Super Cup, an annual football match in Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), between the 1995 African Cup of Champions Clubs Orlando Pirates against the 1995 African Cup Winners ...
between Orlando Pirates and JS Kabylie. In 2004, the stadium hosted final of the
Vodacom Challenge The Vodacom Challenge was an association football pre-season tournament that featured Vodacom-sponsored South African clubs Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs plus from 2006 onwards an invited European club. Prior to 2006, the competition consi ...
, between
AS Vita Club Association Sportive Vita Club, more commonly known as AS Vita Club, AS V. Club or simply Vita Club, is a Congolese football club based in Kinshasa. History AS Vita Club was founded in 1935 by Honoré Essabe under the name of ''Renaissance'' in ...
and
Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) are a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premier Soccer League. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Lords" or "Ch ...
. Some of the most memorable Bafana Bafana matches at the venue include the narrow 3–2 defeat to Brazil in 1996 as well as the country's memorable triumph when they secured passage through to a first ever World Cup appearance for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France when they beat Republic of Congo 1-0 through a Phil Masinga strike in 1997. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, one of the most entertaining matches was played here in the quarterfinal stages when Uruguay beat Ghana in a penalty shootout made more memorable by a blatant handball in the last minute of the extra time by Uruguay striker
Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Uruguayan Primera División club Nacional and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is ...
, which denied a Ghana and Africa a first ever semifinal appearance at the world soccer showpiece.


Local football

The FNB Stadium is home to Kaizer Chiefs Football Club. It is also the preferred venue for the Soweto derby soccer matches – the country's biggest sporting showpiece – involving Soweto based Premier Soccer League clubs, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. It was also the traditional home of the Iwisa Maize Meal Spectacular and later, the Telkom Charity Cup, which were charity soccer season openers in South African football from 1990 to 2006, before it was closed for renovations. The stadium was re-opened when it hosted the 2010
Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's premier club soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of giving lower league and amateur teams a chance t ...
final between
Bidvest Wits Bidvest Wits Football Club, (simply often known as Wits University F.C. or Wits) was a South African professional football club from Johannesburg which played in the Premier Soccer League the first-tier of South African league football system. ...
and
Amazulu Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal ...
. The game ending 3–0 to Bidvest Wits. Fabricio Rodrigues was the first player to score at the rebuilt Soccer City. The Charity Cup then returned in
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. The first league match at the stadium since being rebuilt, was a
2010–11 Premier Soccer League The 2010–11 Premier Soccer League season (known as the ABSA Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the fifteenth since its establishment. Supersport United were the defending champions, having won their third premier league title the previo ...
match between
Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DStv ...
and Free State Stars. The first
MTN 8 MTN 8 is the current branding for a South African soccer cup competition launched in 1972 for teams who finished in the top 8 positions of the league table of the country's preceding top-flight league (currently the DStv Premiership) season. T ...
match at the stadium was the first leg of the
2010 MTN 8 The 2010 MTN 8 was the 36th edition of this annual knock out tournament. The tournament was won by Orlando Pirates, who beat Moroka Swallows on penalties in the final. The trophy was Orlando Pirates' first major cup win in ten years. It was contes ...
semifinal, between
Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DStv ...
and
Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) are a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premier Soccer League. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Lords" or "Ch ...
. The venue has also hosted high-profile Bafana Bafana matches, including their 1–0 win over Spain in 2013 as well as the side's worst ever defeat when they lost 5–0 to Brazil in another international friendly in 2014. In May 2018,
Mamelodi Sundowns Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premier Soccer League, the first tier of South African football ...
hosted
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...
in an exhibition match, dedicated to the late Former
President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Nat ...
in his centenary. The match ended 31 in the favour of Barcelona.


Rugby

FNB stadium is a multi-purpose venue and hosted its first
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
match in 2010, the Tri Nations match between
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
, won by the latter. The attendance was 94,713 which is listed as the third highest rugby attendance ever in the Southern Hemisphere and a record attendance for the redeveloped stadium, until it was eclipsed on 1 August 2015, when 94,807 was recorded when Orlando Pirates played Kaizer Chiefs in the Carling Black Label Cup fixture. The stadium hosted New Zealand again in the
2012 Rugby Championship The 2012 Rugby Championship was the inaugural annual rugby union series between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Argentina. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as ''The Castle Rugby Cham ...
on 6 October, with the All Blacks defeating the Springboks 32–16 in front of 88,739. In 2013, the Springboks defeated Argentina 73–13 at FNB Stadium in front of a crowd 52,867. In 2016, the venue hosted Varsity Cup rugby fixtures.


Concerts

A The Coldplay concert was a rehearsal concert in preparation for their Mylo Xyloto Tour. As part of the concert, they filmed scenes for the
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...
for their song "
Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in para ...
". B Ed Sheeran, Chris Martin, Pharrell Williams, Usher, and others also performed during the festival headlined by Beyoncé & Jay Z.


Christian gatherings


Incidents

On 29 July 2017, two people were killed and 17 were injured in a stadium crush while trying to enter the stadium before a match between the
Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) are a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premier Soccer League. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Lords" or "Ch ...
and
Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DStv ...
.


See also

*
1996 African Cup of Nations The 1996 African Cup of Nations was the 20th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by South Africa, who replaced original hosts Kenya. The field expanded for the first time to 16 teams, s ...
*
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
* 2013 African Cup of Nations


References


External links


Soccer City – Official stadium info

Soccer City
at the 2010 Communication Project
FIFA 2010 sponsorship
at FNB
Soccer City Stadium: a case study on Constructalia

Soccer City ESPN Profile



Soccer City documentary film

Pictures and Videos from Soccer City

Stadium Management South AfricaPhotos of Soccer City Stadium
a
cafe.daum.net/stade
{{Authority control 1989 establishments in South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup stadiums Human stampedes in 2017 Man-made disasters in South Africa Music venues in South Africa
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
Rugby union stadiums in South Africa Soccer venues in South Africa Sports venues completed in 1989 Sports venues in Johannesburg Stadiums that have hosted a FIFA World Cup opening match