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World Cup final stadium opens with S African cup final

BBC Published May 22, 2010 Reviewed Jun 30, 2026 ✓ Reviewed by citations.press editors
Citation-ready fact
More than 74,000 South African football fans attended the first match at Soccer City.
more than 74000 fans · attendance
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Citation-ready fact
Johannesburg's Bidvest Wits beat Amazulu of Durban 3-0 in the match.
3 goals · Bidvest Wits goals0 goals · Amazulu goals
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Citation-ready fact
Kick-off was delayed for 30 minutes due to traffic.
30 minutes · kick-off delay
AFP news agency, reports
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For the World Cup, the stadium capacity will rise to almost 95,000 seats.
about 95000 seats · capacity
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It was the last of South Africa's 10 World Cup grounds to be unveiled.
10 grounds · World Cup grounds
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More than 2.5 million tickets have been sold, out of three million available, and more than a million have been bought by South Africans.
more than 2500000 tickets · tickets sold3000000 tickets · tickets availablemore than 1000000 tickets · tickets bought by South Africans
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Citation-ready fact
The rebuilt stadium hosted the South African cup final less than three weeks before the World Cup opening match.
less than 3 weeks · time between events
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More than 74,000 South African football fans have attended the first match at Soccer City - venue for the World Cup final.

The rebuilt stadium hosted the South African cup final less than three weeks before the World Cup's opening match is played there.

Johannesburg's Bidvest Wits beat Amazulu of Durban 3-0 in the match.

Tickets sold out even though the match featured two of South Africa's less glamorous teams.

Kick-off was delayed for 30 minutes because of the volume of traffic going to the football game and a rugby match in Soweto, reports the AFP news agency.

The stadium, which is also known as the Calabash, is Africa's biggest football ground.

For the World Cup, its capacity will rise to almost 95,000 but this was reduced for its first match.

President Jacob Zuma officially opened the stadium, which lies between Johannesburg and Soweto. It was the last of South Africa's 10 World Cup grounds to be unveiled.

This year's World Cup is being held on African soil for the first time.

More than 2.5 million tickets have been sold, out of three million available. More than a million have been bought by South Africans.

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