A South African court has ruled in favor of letting a commercial bank keep the naming rights to the football stadium where the opening match and final of the World Cup were played.
First National Bank spokesman Derek Carstens said Wednesday the 94,000-seat Soccer City will revert to its pre-World Cup name of First National Bank Stadium, or the FNB stadium.
Carstens says the bank was granted the right to have full naming rights for a period of 10 years till July 2014. In compliance with FIFA requirements, the bank agreed to change the name for the duration of the World Cup.
A legal battle ensued when a company managing the arena named it as the National Stadium after the tournament, but the South Gauteng High Court ruled in FNB's favor on Wednesday.
