The Stadium

Perched on the shores of North End Lake, this brand new 48 000-seater arena will host eight FIFA World Cup matches, including five first-round games, a Round of 16 game, a quarterfinal and the third/fourth-place play-off match.

It's the first major dedicated soccer venue in the area, and the stadium,­ which has an eye-catching rood design,­ has already hosted a Chiefs-Pirates Soweto Derby, as well as Bafana Bafana's warm-up clash against Japan and the playing surface (natural grass, with artificial turf on the outer area) more than stood up to the challenge.

The City

Port Elizabeth was officially founded in 1820 to accommodate the British Settlers, but the first documentation of the area goes as far back as 1488 when Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias made landfall en route to the East.

Today it is a thriving tourist destination, home to South Africa's motor vehicle industry and also one of the most important sea ports in the Southern Hemisphere. It now forms part of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, which was formed in 2001 and includes surrounding areas like Uitenhage and Dispatch.

There was a big drive to get top-flight soccer back to the city ahead of the 2010 World Cup, but unfortunately Bay United lasted just one season in the top-flight before getting relegated at the end of last season.