Names of sport stadiums in South Africa : location, sponsors and politics

Abstract

South Africa is a competitive sporting nation. Many South African individuals as well as team efforts have had great success over many years competing at home as well as all across the world. There are many sport varieties. Many of the sports, like rugby, soccer and cricket, are team sports, with teams competing against one another in sport stadiums. These are toponyms and they all carry names. The acquisition of a name usually comes about shortly after the inauguration of the playing stadium. Initially the location, i.e. where it is situated, plays a major role, but later on the name of an individual is often commemorated whether deceased or still alive at the time. Such an individual usually had a significant role to play in promoting the particular type of sport he supported (it is usually a male) or is acknowledged for the political role he played in the country. Sponsors have also emerged, adding their names to existing stadium names. Over the years as political and economic circumstances change, many cases were argued in favour of a name change and they were effected. It is an ongoing process. The purpose of this contribution is to outline the context and factors that contributed to a sporting stadium acquiring a name, and then changing its name due to economic or political reasons.