The Moses Mabhida Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Durban, South Africa. Named after former General Secretary of the South African Communist Party, Moses Mabhida, the stadium is also known as the Durban Stadium.
The stadium includes a sports institute and also a transmodal transport station, and has been in use for various sports like football, cricket, motorsports and rugby union. The stadium has a capacity of 62,760 spectators.
History
The stadium was built on the site of Kings Park Soccer Stadium, which was demolished in the year 2006 to make way for the new stadium. The demolition took about nine months, and the construction for the new stadium started in April 2007.
The construction was officially completed on 24 November 2009 and the first official match played there was between Amazulu and Maritzburg United on 29 November. The match was won by Maritzburg United 1-0.
Major Matches
The stadium was one of the venues for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and hosted five group games, one second-round game, and a semi-final match.
The first FIFA game played between Germany and Australia was attended by 62,660 people. Germany ended up winning the game by 4 goals to zero.
The stadium was also the venue for legendary FIFA world cup semi-final played between Germany and Spain. The classic 1-0 win by Spain was witnessed by 60,960 people.
The stadium has hosted a Twenty20 cricket match between South Africa and India on 9 January 2011, which India won by 21 runs.
The venue is also known for hosting Top Gear Festival live shows four years in a row from 2011 to 2014.
Future Events
The stadium is ready to host the opening ceremony and athletics events of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
