Pietermaritzburg is starting to turn into a World Cup city again. Businesses, sporting venues and community organisations are preparing to screen 2026 Fifa World Cup matches, with several fan parks and public viewing areas expected to be set up across the city.

The push matters now because supporters are already looking for places to gather as Bafana Bafana head toward their opening match. Venues including Collegians Sports Pub, Eddels Sports and Social Club, Maritzburg East Sports and Recreation Club, Club Woodlander, Saki Sports Bar, The Kick and Whistle, Bulldog Sports Pub and Franki Bananaz Sports Bar are among those likely to draw football fans when the tournament begins.

At the centre of the plan is the Msunduzi Municipality, which is working to bring back the traditional fan park experience. Natal Carbineers Gardens, next to Pietermaritzburg City Hall, is expected to once again become a gathering point for football supporters, giving the city a focal point for the four weeks of the tournament.

Mzimkhulu Thebolla said talks were under way with a potential partner to make that fan park a reality. He said the discussions were looking positive and that more details would be shared in due course, a sign that the revival is moving forward but has not yet been fully locked in.

There is also a wider effort to recreate the atmosphere that surrounded the 2010 Fifa World Cup, with Pietermaritzburg Botanical Gardens preparing activities aimed at recapturing that excitement. Former football stars have also lined up behind Bafana Bafana ahead of the squad's opening match, adding to the sense that the city is preparing not just for screenings, but for a public football occasion.

The next step now rests with the municipality's talks with its potential partner. Until that is settled, Pietermaritzburg's World Cup plans remain promising rather than complete, even as the city moves to give supporters more than one place to watch the action.