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Some sport events have become renowned because of a rivalry between teams from the same city or because there was a previous rivalry between the cities where the teams were later created. Today we present you some of the most important rivalries in football:

Argentina: When Boca Juniors and River Plate play, everything stops in Buenos Aires. There are other famous derbies in Argentina, like Independiente-Racing, San Lorenzo-Huracán, Rosario Central-Newell’s Old Boys and Estudiantes-Gimansia

Brazil: The Flu-Fla is one of the main two derbies in Rio de Janeiro, having Flamengo and Fluminense match forces in legendary Maracana Stadium. The other Rio derby was born in the water as it comes from a rowing rivalry between Flamengo and Vasco da Gamma. There are other derbies in Brazil, like the Grêmio - Internacional in Porto Alegre or the Corinthians-Palmeiras in Sao Paulo.

England: The inventors of football have several traditional rivalries: Manchester United - Chelsea is one that has become popular in the last years but there are older derbies: Manchester City and Manchester United, Everton and Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester United… The list could go on and on.

Italy: In Milan the derby is Internazionale - AC Milan, in Rome: Lazio - AS Roma and in Turin: Juventus and Torino.

Portugal: Benfica and Porto translate to the football field the rivalry between the most populated cities in the country: Lisbon and Porto. “Eagles” and “Dragons” have been playing against each other since 1912.

Spain: Barcelona and Real Madrid are among the top ten clubs in the world and they face each other at least twice a year in the “Liga”.

Uruguay: In Montevideo, Peñarol and Nacional have one of the longest-running rivalries in football, and the longest-running outside the UK.

HomeForHome has users registered in every one of these places, so you may want to check the sports schedule before you set your availability calendar for next year’s home exchanges.

This is the final part of our tour through the South African cities where the 2010 FIFA World Cup is taking place. So enjoy these ideas for your future home exchanges.

Bloemfontein

Mangaung/Bloemfontein is the judicial capital of South Africa. Surrounded by grassland plains and low hills, its most distinguishable features are its open spaces and its flowers, specially roses. The spirit of the city is reflected by its name, Mangaung  means “Place of the Cheetahs” in SeSotho, and Bloemfontein means “fountain of flowers” in Dutch.

Name: Mangaung/Bloemfontein

Province: Free State

Population: 369,568 inhabitants

Stadium: Free State Stadium - Capacity: 40,911 - Teams still to play here: France, South Africa, Switzerland, Honduras, plus a round of 16 game.

Polokwane

The “Place of Safety” is one place where you can access the natural wonders of South Africa. This is the home of the legendary land of Modjadji, the Rain Queen, where the world’s largest baobab trees are. Some parks and reserves you can visit nearby are:

- Polokwane Bird & Reptile Park
- Polokwane Game Reserve
- Moletzie Bird Sanctuary
- Modjadji Rainforest
- Cheune Crocodile Farm

Name: Polokwane

Province: Limpopo

Population: 508,272 inhabitants

Stadium: Peter Mokaba Stadium - Capacity: 41,733 - Teams still to play here: Greece, Argentina, Paraguay and New Zealand.

Rustenburg

Located in the heart of the savannah, at the foot of the Magaliesburg mountain range lies this Rustenburg, the “Place of Rest” with its ideal climate is a perfect destination for outdoor activities. Just to mention one worth trying, Rustenburg is home to the Rustenburg SkyDiving Club, offering skydiving, parachuting, tandem skydiving, static line jump and accelerated freefall, some even for first-timer jumpers.

Name: Rustenburg

Province: North West

Population: 395,539 inhabitants

Stadium: Royal Bafokeng Stadium - Capacity: 38,646 - Teams still to play here: Mexico, Uruguay, Denmark, Japan, plus a round of 16 game and a semi-final.

Nelspruit

Capital of the fertile Mpumalanga Province, Nelspruit is the gateway to Limpopo Trans-frontier Park, which incorporates the Kruger National Park (South Africa), Limpopo National Park (Mozambique) and Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe).

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Name: Nelspruit

Province: Mpumalanga

Population: 221,474 inhabitants

Stadium: Mbombela Stadium - Capacity: 40,929 - Teams still to play here: Australia, Serbia, North Korea and Cote d’Ivoire.

Continuing with our South Africa 2010 tour, today we will cover Port Elizabeth/Nelson Mandela Bay and Pretoria. Even though there is no time to find a home exchange deal to visit South Africa during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it still offers some great ideas for a future destination.

Port Elizabeth/Nelson Mandela Bay

Port Elizabeth/Nelson Mandela Bay is the sunniest city in South Africa and is also known as the “Wind City”, a perfect combination for windsurfing and kiteboarding that makes it a heavenly place for water sports enthusiasts. Overlooking Algoa Bay, in the Indian Ocean coastline, its immaculate magnificent beaches stretch for 40 Km. Port Elizabeth/Nelson Mandela Bay is also an eco-tourism destination, with five biomes converging in the province (out of seven present in South Africa).

Name: Port Elizabeth/Nelson Mandela Bay

Province: Eastern Cape

Population: 1,244,900 inhabitants

Stadium: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium - Capacity: 42,486 - Teams still to play here: Chile, Switzerland, Slovenia, England, plus a round of 16 game, a quarter-final game and the third-place match.

A Must: Addo Elephant National Park - a unique park where you can see the “Big Seven”: Elephants, Rhinos, Lions, Buffalos, Leopards, Southern Right Whales and Great White Sharks. An incredible place 70 Km north of the city.

More info: http://www.sanparks.org/parks/addo/

Pretoria

Pretoria, South Africa’s administrative capital, is a dynamic university town filled with cultural events, open to tourists and offering a variety of options for spending your time. From shopping to nightlife, Pretoria is the African city you do not expect, ready to amaze and enchant you with its surprises.

Name: Tshwane/Pretoria

Province: Gauteng

Population: 2,345,908 inhabitants

Stadium: Loftus Versfeld Stadium - Capacity: 42,858 - Teams still to play here: USA, Algeria, Chile, Spain, plus a round of 16 game.

As we said a couple of weeks ago, millions are watching the 2010 FIFA World Cup, or simply South Africa 2010. This is the first time the most important football event takes place in Africa. We only have one home exchange listing in South Africa, but we can still share some interesting facts about the cities where the world is laying its eyes on these days.

Johannesburg

A tour of South Africa that can only start from Johannesburg, its largest city. Jo’burg, as it is called by its inhabitants, is a city of many contrasts, where wealth and poverty live side by side, luxury hotels and huge landfills, green parks and squalid suburbs as well as a lively nightlife. Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium will host the main event: the Final, on July 11th.

Name: Johannesburg (also locally called Jozi, Jo’burg or eGoli)

Province: Gauteng 

Population: 3,888,180 inhabitants

Stadiums:
Soccer City - Capacity: 84,490 - Teams still to play here: Ghana, Germany, plus a round of 16 game, a quarter-final game and the final.
Ellis Park Stadium - Capacity: 55,686 - Teams still to play here: Spain, Honduras, Slovakia, Italy, plus a round of 16 game and a quarter-final game.

Durban

Durban is South Africa’s largest port and one of Africa’s most visited. One of its most important features is its year-round warm water, and everything seems to revolve around water here:

- Durban’s port.
- uShaka Marine World- Africa’s largest aquatic theme park.
- The “mile of gold” - 4 Km of beach surrounded by restaurants and attractions.

Name: Durban

Province: KwaZulu-Natal

Population: 3,468,086 inhabitants

Stadium: Moses Mabhida Stadium - Capacity: 62,760 - Teams still to play here: Nigeria, South Korea, Portugal, Brazil, plus a round of 16 game and a semi-final.

Cape Town

Cape Town is a metropolis welcoming and stimulating a dynamic and multicultural cosmopolitan city, surrounded by breathtaking views of ocean and mountains, perfect for a holiday of sport, culture, music and nature.

Name: Cape Town (derived from its association with the Cape of Good Hope)

Province: Western Cape

Population: 3,497,097 inhabitants

Stadium: Cape Town Stadium (Green Point Stadium) - Capacity: 64,100 - Teams still to play here: Portugal, North Korea, Cameroon, Netherlands, plus a round of 16 game, a quarter-final game and a semi-final.

A week from today a huge sport event will be starting in South Africa: the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Thirty-two teams, representing nations from all continents will compete to become the world champion of football. The championship will last about a month and the games will be watched by millions of people worldwide, since it has the record of being the most watched sporting event in the world, even over the Olympic Games.

I got curious to learn if HomeForHome had listings from all the participating countries. What do you think? Will you venture a guess?

Here goes what I found:

1. Spain: 5118
2. France: 4032
3. Italy: 1764
4. England: 621
5. Germany: 542
6. United States: 480
7. Australia: 110
8. Argentina: 101
9. Switzerland: 64
10. Mexico: 48
11. Portugal: 48
12. Brazil: 27
13. Chile: 25
14. Netherlands: 20
15. Algeria: 18
16. Uruguay: 9
17. Denmark: 7
18. New Zealand: 7
19. Greece: 5
20. Paraguay: 3
21. Serbia: 3
22. Cote d’Ivore: 2
23. Japan: 2
24. South Africa: 1
25. South Korea: 1
26. Honduras: 1
27. Slovakia: 1
28. Cameroon: 0
29. Ghana: 0
30. Nigeria: 0
31: North Korea: 0
32: Slovenia: 0

Almost! Only but a few of the countries that qualified to the final round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup do not have someone willing to do home exchange through HomeForHome.

Now, Spain took the lead a long time ago in the number registered swappers, do you think HomeForHome will bring Spaniards luck in the football field? Since they are among the favourites, we’ll just have to wait and see.