Lower Saxony is looking forward to the 2006 Football World Cup

"Germany will be hosting the 2006 Football World Cup!" With these words, uttered on 6 July 2000, FIFA President Sepp Blatter triggered a wave of football fervour in Germany. And, less than two years later on 15 April 2002, it was confirmed: world-class football will be served up in Lower Saxony, with Hannover announced as one of the event’s 12 playing venues!

Much has happened in Hannover in the interim: more than 60 million euros has been spent on renovating the city’s stadium, formerly called the Niedersachsenstadion, into a fantastic footballing arena holding almost 45,000 fans. With outstanding infrastructure in the Hannover region – the legacy of EXPO 2000 and the CeBit fair – everything is in place to make Lower Saxony’s state capital a first-rate location for staging the matches. Fans can look forward to excellent transport connections and plentiful accommodation.

Hannover’s first group-stage game is scheduled for 12 June 2006, followed by three further group matches on 16, 20, and 23 June and a round-of-sixteen match on 27 June. At least eight of the 32 national sides will be coming to Hannover and trying to secure vital points on the way to the World Cup title.