The most popular sports in Cape Town are soccer, rugby, swimming and cricket. The city has been host to a series of major sporting events, including World Championships in various sports such as athletics, fencing, weightlifting, hockey, cycling, canoeing, gymnastics and others. Cape Town was also placed a respectable third in the bid to host the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. It is rumoured that South Africa will be putting the city forward again as a potential host city for the world’s 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
Cape Town has two teams that play in South Africa’s premier soccer league (the PSL), Santos and Ajax Cape Town. The city will be host to several of the FIFA 2010 World Cup matches, including the semi-final. The World Cup takes place from 11th June to 11th July in 2010. The games will be held in Cape Town’s new 70,000 seat stadium, the Green Point Stadium, housed in the Green Point area of the city.
In rugby, Cape Town is home to the Western Province Rugby Union whose teams play at the Newlands Stadium and compete in the Currie Cup. In the Southern Hemisphere’s Super 14 Rugby Union competition, Cape Town’s rugby team the Stormers represent the Western Province and Boland. During the 1995 Rugby World Cup, several rugby matches were hosted in the city, including the semi-final. The South African national team the Springboks also regularly play in Cape Town.
And in cricket, Cape Town’s Cape Cobras compete in both the Supersport and Standard Bank Cup Cricket Series. They play at the Newlands Cricket Ground. In 2003, the city was host to the ICC Cricket World Cup, adding another feather to Cape Town’s cap as a major sporting event city.
Mountain biking and cycle racing are also popular sports in Cape Town. It is home to the Absa Cape Epic, which is the largest full-service mountain bike stage race in the world. It also stages the Cape Argus Pick ‘n’ Pay Cycle Tour. This is the first event outside of Europe to be included in the international Cycling Union’s Golden Bike Series, and is the world’s biggest individually-timed cycle race.
So you can see that Cape Town has a lot to offer fans of a variety of sports. Its reputation as a major sporting event host is growing, making it a growing holiday attraction for sports fans and participants. If you are looking to plan a trip to Cape Town, whether to compete in or attend a sporting event, then look online at Go Travel Insurance for the best deals in
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