Thumbs up for Vuvuzelas

vuvuzelaJOHANNESBURG There is no way vuvuzelas can be banned during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South African football administrators, coaches and players said in a survey this week.

The football fraternity is determined that they want vuvuzelas to remain a permanent feature in and outside the stadiums as the instruments play a crucial role in psyching up players and keeping the fans spirits high.

In Europe, Europeans have their way of supporting football while in South Africa vuvuzelas are part of that symbol of appreciating and supporting football. Come 2010, vuvuzelas will be around full-time. I cant see FIFA banning the blowing of vuvuzelas during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, said Jomo Comos Football Club owner and head coach, Jomo Sono. He said the blowing of vuvuzelas would enhance the national soccer squads chances of progressing beyond the first round.

Sono, a local football legend and former Bafana Bafana head coach, argued that the current crop of players in the South African national team seemed to perform much better when vuvuzelas were being blown.

I have stayed in Europe for eight years and two years in America, and I know that each and every continent has its own culture and tradition. The blowing of vuvuzela is the South African way of boosting players morale, said Sono.

Echoing similar sentiments was the South African Soccer Premier League (PSL) Chief Executive Officer, Kjetil Siem, who maintained that the forthcoming World Cup needed the organized noise of the vuvuzelas.

The Premier Soccer League supports 100 percent the blowing of vuvuzelas during matches, and we would like to see this happening up until the 2010 World Cup. We are not worried about what other nations (teams) would say about our vuvuzelas. Brazilians play drums, and our own squad blow vuvuzelas. This is about the good game of football, said Siem.

Bidvest Wits Football Club head coach, Roger de Sa, said while the vuvuzelas should not be banned, the instruments could be a distraction for some players and coaches.

Its always difficult to bark or take instructions when vuvuzelas are being blown. While it is good for fans, it is disturbing to the coaches and players when the match is in progress. One thing for sure – visiting nations would not buy them (vuvuzelas) as they would stick to their own way of supporting their teams, he said.

Bidvest Wits Football Club striker Marawaan Bantam concurred with his coach, saying the blowing of vuvuzelas during matches could hinder communication.

Communication becomes virtually impossible. But I would not support the banning of vuvuzelas, said Bantam.

During the Confederations Cup tournament in June, FIFA expressed concern over the use of vuvuzelas, saying they were a distraction to the visiting teams as they were not used to the noise generated.

European champions Spain were among the teams that openly voiced their displeasure at the use of the South African trumpets. Fifa president Joseph Sepp Blatter however, later said the world football governing body would not ban the vuvuzelas as they were part of South Africas football tradition.

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