Introduction to Nelspruit

Text/Zhang Bin?

Two hasty trips to South Africa made Nelspruit disappear completely. From the map, this small town in the northeast is only 330? Kilometers. According to the travel reference given by FIFA, it takes about 3? Half an hour, less than 1? Nearly 500 hours? Many years ago, when the Niles discovered this land, they had the name of this town, which means straightforward-"Nile Creek".

If you must go to this city before the World Cup, a very important reason is to target Kruger National Park. This small town has silently assumed the role of the south gate of this park for many years, passing through the city and continuing to drive for 60? Kilometers is a huge wildlife reserve. Enthusiastic tourists will also know that if they continue to move northeast, they will enter two huge wild parks in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Some tough compatriots crossed the border along this road and entered South Africa in the opposite direction. There is a saying that the border between South Africa and these two countries is a vast wild park. It is not soldiers but hungry lions swimming on the border, and the lives of illegal immigrants are at stake.

Of course, as a journalist or fan preparing to cover the World Cup, the significance of this city lies in four group matches. On the fifth day after the official start of the World Cup, it was 6: 00 Beijing time. On the evening of June 6th, 16, 19? 30? At 8 o'clock, the Mbo Mbela Stadium in this city will welcome its first World Cup, and the gold cup will begin to shine on Nelspruit. The other three games are Italy versus New Zealand, the second appearance of the last champion in this competition; Australia against Serbia; South Korea's final group match, against C? te d 'Ivoire. The detached China fans can completely ignore this small town, even if some memories are probably fuzzy, the game is not good enough.

When the World Cup in Germany is over, journalists who look at South Africa coldly will question whether this African country can shoulder this heavy responsibility. There are many reasons, one of which is that the host city lacks a high-standard international airport, and Nelspruit is a typical example. The construction period of the new stadium is worrying, and our town continues to be included. Of the five new stadiums built for this World Cup, Mbo Mbela Stadium is definitely not the most beautiful. Not as elegant as Durban Binhai Stadium, it will only appear a little more restrained against the modern style of Cape Town Green Point. If we must find the distinctive features of the small town stadium, we must wait until night falls and shine on the stadium 18? The lamppost is carefully designed in the shape of a giraffe, and even the giraffe's eyes are illuminated by special light sources, reminding the world that it is close to the colorful wild world. Imagine that Australia and Serbia are fighting fiercely under the gaze of shining giraffe eyes. This is the only real late game of this World Cup in this stadium. Will Beijing time be 2: 30 in the middle of the night? Yes

There can be 43500 at the scene at most? 2007 is the last year of 2007. The stadium, which was officially started in 2006, was bumpy all the way and was completed at the last minute. FIFA originally considered this stadium as a World Cup pilot for artificial turf, but finally gave up. Although the quiet town is the capital of Malanga Province, it is difficult to enter the ranks of hot news every day, because the World Cup, or more accurately, because of two gunshots, we went from 9? Separate it from the host city.

It's a long story The local organizing Committee of the town contracted the construction of the stadium to a joint venture construction company of South Africa and France, with a cost of 1.37? A billion dollars. From the beginning of the project construction to 2009, there were scandals of bribery and fraud? 65438+ 10 In June, an official of the judicial department of the municipal government was shot dead in front of his home, and a shocking case closely related to the World Cup was known to the world. At that time, the most popular thing was the assassination of an official of the World Cup Organizing Committee. People who were already worried or biased about South Africa had a deeper psychological fear of the first African host in the history of the World Cup. Although after several explanations, people still reluctantly accepted the fact that the deceased was not an official of the organizing Committee, but to make matters worse, the deceased was a judicial officer who was responsible for investigating fraud in the construction of the World Cup stadium. Before the assassination, he was preparing to submit a list of people involved to his superiors. South Africa's image has been damaged, and FIFA has suffered greatly.

In fact, as early as 2008? In the second half of 2008, the situation in the town became unstable and the mayor was dismissed. The mayor of emergency skydiving admitted that the fairness and integrity of the government had been challenged as never before because of the preparations for the World Cup. At last, the report of the stadium fraud case pointed the finger at the person in charge of the municipal department and the three companies involved in the project construction, involving millions of dollars.

The fruit of Nelspruit, a small town, sells well all over the country and is rich in tourism resources, which can be found in any tourism-related materials in South Africa. The town has a very special position in South Africa, but it has nothing to do with us outsiders who are far away from Wan Li. At that time, this small town was a place where various political forces wrestled, and assassinations occurred frequently. This year 1 month, Mo Helala, deputy director of the Provincial Department of Sports, Culture and Tourism, was shot in his sleep. When interviewed by reporters, the current mayor called Mo Helala "an extremely important decision-maker". The mayor's tone to reporters was calm, but in three hit list forecasts published in South African newspapers, the mayor Chiwayo was impressively listed. The Sunday Times report is even more surprising. A Mozambican assassin confessed that he was employed by political forces in South Africa to murder dissidents. The assassin's daily occupation is called "cleaner" in South African politics. Facing the deadly threat that may appear at any time, Chiwayo knows very well that the sudden death of some former politicians in this city is extremely suspicious.

When evaluating the city, South African economists believe that apart from the mixed political power, racial opposition is the most extreme and the harmony index is the worst in South Africa. There used to be two good schools on the land requisitioned for the construction of the new stadium, and the government forcibly moved the children's classrooms. At present, the teaching facilities are extremely poor, leading parents of students to rush into the street to confront the government, and the police fired rubber bullets. The problem of school buildings is not the most serious social problem in this city. Unemployment still fills most people with despair. Although the construction of sports venues has provided some employment opportunities, it is still not enough to make people see hope. At present, many local people who love football can only watch a World Cup match in their own city, not because tickets are hard to buy, but because it is 18? Dollar fare is still a big burden for the poor. ? 20 10-03- 18? The total number comes first? 378? period