Ellis Park, a legendary stadium

2023-10-14 17:56:41

Ellis Park, Johannesburg’s stadium, is almost a century old. It was built and inaugurated in 1928 during a meeting between the Springboks and the All Blacks and is named in honor of a municipal councilor who was able to free up land to build it.

Nelson Mandela and captain François Pienaar together lifted the William Webb Ellis Trophy following South Africa beat New Zealand in the final at Ellis Park on June 24, 1995 @DR

Why mythical? Because it is intimately linked to the history of South Africa. It was in this stadium, on June 24, 1995, a few years following the abolition of apartheid, that Nelson Mandela and the white captain François Pienaar together lifted the William Webb Ellis trophy following South Africa beat New -Zealand in the final : “This victory is not only for the 60,000 people present at Ellis Park, but for the 43 million South Africans.” These were the captain’s words at that moment.

We understand why by 1999, a friendly football match was organized there between an African selection and a world selection to salute the departure of Nelson Mandela from the presidency of South Africa.

He was also unfortunately the mirror of the violence which plagues South Africaone of the greatest tragedies in sport took place there on April 11, 2021 when a stampede during a football match between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs left more than 40 dead.

Mythical, because it hosted matches of the first football World Cup which took place in Africa, in 2010, such as the Argentina – Nigeria match. A great moment: Messi on the pitch, Maradona, then coach.

It was renamed Emirates Airline Park in 2015, but many still call it Ellis Park because of its heritage. When you have such a history, naming is difficult to take hold and that’s reassuring.

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