Love them or hate them vuvuzelas will be sounding loud and proud throughout the 2010 World Cup, Fifa president Sepp Blattr announced recently.
Love them or hate them vuvuzelas will be sounding loud and proud throughout the 2010 World Cup, Fifa president Sepp Blattr announced recently.
Described on fifa.com as a "vociferous airhorn" the (in)famous vuvuzela has many fans, but detractors accuse the simple plastic horn of being the source of an annoying drone. Many South Africans attribute this attitude to weak-lunged foreign supporters who worry that no one will be able to hear their cheers over those of the locals.
Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk called the vuvuzela "unpleasant" and accused it of making coaching during matches "impossible". But Chris Totobela, coach of African Connection Winners Football Club – which recently won the Cacadu District Absa Winners League- says that vuvuzelas are a "great symbol of African football".
Some have suggested that banning the signature horn would be akin to preventing the New Zealand rugby team from performing the haka, or eliminating the Mexican wave which has become a part of so many sports events. Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso claimed recently that the distinct sound of the vuvuzela makes concentration and communication difficult for players, Brazilian striker Robson de Souza (better known as Robinho) has made similar comments.
Che Makanjee, an enthuisiastic member of the Rhodes Internal Soccer League and an all-round soccer fan says he likes vuvuzelas as long as they are not played during national anthems. Wandile Duruwe, coach of Grocott’s Mail Eleven Attackers, says that the rest of the world (and local critics) need to get into the spirit and "learn how to celebrate – African style".
More legitimate concerns appear to be that soccer ‘hooligans’ will turn the musical instrument into a harmful weapon. Coach Totobela dismisses this saying; "The vuvuzela is just a peice of plastic, I could hit you on the back of the head with that and it wouldn’t do anything!"
In a press statement made prior to the Confederations Cup, Blatter defended the vuvuzela as part of African soccer culture. This was in response to alledged complaints by foreign journalists who argue that the chorus of vuvuzelas drowns out commentary, to which Blatter responded on bbc.com: "It’s a local sound and I don’t know how it is possible to stop it, it’s noisy, it’s energy, rhythm, music, dance, drums, this is Africa, we have to adapt a little."
In the end vuvuzelas were handed out to supporters for free during the Confederations Cup so there’s just no stopping them. Unsurprisingly Danny Jordaan, chief organiser of the World Cup rganiser, is already predicting that this will be the "noisiest World Cup ever".
Regardless of whether you find the vuvuzela tuneless or festive it definitely is a unique symbol of South Africa. Coach Duruwe says that the vuvuzela brings all South Africans together in celebration.
