2010 - Blow the vuvuzela if you’re a fan

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Blow the vuvuzela if you’re a fan

Official host city for the 2010 FIFA World Cup^TM

Blow the vuvuzela if you’re a fan

Wednesday, 13 August 2008

The loud blaring around the stadium is the sound of South African football – the vuvuzela. And the brightly coloured plastic trumpet is standard equipment if you’re a football fan.

The sound of South African football

BRIGHTLY coloured, plastic, a metre long and weighing about 100 grams, the trumpeting vuvuzela is the sound of football in South Africa.

Some say its history goes way back in time - long before football was the country’s most popular sport. The first vuvuzela, it is said, was the kudu horn used to call African villagers to community meetings.

Later these horns were made of tin. They are also remarkably similar to the long horns used by the Shembe, a religious order based in KwaZulu-Natal, during their high holy days.

The loud braying trumpets became so popular at football matches in the late 1990s that an empowerment company, Masincedane Sport, was set up in 2001 to mass-produce them. Today they can be bought from the dozens of friendly vendors lining the sides of major roads, from sports stores, from football clubs, from supermarkets, online - just about anywhere.

Made of plastic, they come in a variety of colours - the standard primary red, blue and yellow, with a smattering of green too. But the most popular are those in club colours: black or white for fans of Orlando Pirates, yellow for Kaizer Chiefs, and so on.

Air horn
And the sound? An elephant, a swarm of angry bees, a fog horn - whatever it is, it is loud. When there's action near the goal mouth, it is something to behold; a sound you are unlikely to forget in a hurry.

The cacophony gets louder and more frantic towards the end of the game. Putco Mafani, the public relations officer of Platinum Stars, is widely credited for popularising the instrument - done during his term as communications manager for the hugely popular Kaizer Chiefs football club.

News reports quote him as saying fans, especially during the last 15 minutes of a game, are encouraged to blow their vuvuzelas as loud as they can.

"There is an old African saying that goes like this: 'The baboon is killed by a lot of noise'. We make as much noise as we can to confuse our opponents on the field," said Mafani. "Remember this game is not like golf or tennis, where you are actively encouraged to keep quiet. This is a loud game."

Other quarters claim the vuvuzela’s appearance at football matches was the work of Kaizer Chiefs supporter Saddam Maake.

While it has its roots firmly in ancient African culture, there’s some uncertainty around the origin of the word "vuvuzela".

Some believe the name originated from township slang and means "to shower somebody with music" or because it resembles a shower head. Another theory is that it is a rough translation from isiZulu simply meaning "making noise". Other reports Wikipedia refer to it as a lepatata, its less popular Setswana name.

The announcement on 15 May 2004 that South Africa would host the FIFA World Cup in 2010 gave the vuvuzela a major boost, with some 20 000 sold on the day. Vuvuzelas became so popular that in May of that year SABMiller, the South African-born multinational brewer, moved to protect it Fin24

The company said that the vuvuzela would be fully trademarked to prevent its inventor being ripped off. It would give entrepreneur Neil van Schalkwyk legal and mentoring aid. Van Schalkwyk set up Masincedane Sport through SAB Kickstart.

Go ahead
And FIFA has come to the party too. The world football governing body said on 11 July 2008 that fans could bring their vuvuzelas to stadiums for 2010 World Cup matches.

At a debate that lasted several hours, the South Africa 2010 Local Organising Committee (OC) convinced FIFA that the vuvuzela was essential for “an authentic South African footballing experience”.

The debate came after FIFA had expressed some concern that vuvuzelas could be used by businesses to have an advertising presence in World Cup stadiums.

A vuvuzela orchestra was also formed by musician Pedro Espi-Sanchis in 2006. He plans to have 36 orchestra members play the national anthem, the popular Shosholoza song and other songs that fans have created for their teams in 2010.

The vuvuzela is a feature of football matches in South Africa, and the instrument has made its mark in other sports. It is now heard at rugby and cricket games too.

Sources:

Joburg’s top teams

Orlando Pirates
With a fearsome skull and crossbones logo, Orlando Pirates - one of South Africa's most popular teams - has been part of Joburg culture for 71 years. The team was formed in 1937, growing out of the Orlando Boys Club, in Soweto. Today their home stadium is Ellis Park, and Johannesburg Stadium is used as a training ground.

Kaizer Chiefs
The Amakhozi are the Bucs' fiercest rivals. They are a much younger team, having been formed in 1970 under Kaizer Motaung, who is still the head of the club. Motaung himself came from Pirates, and the initial Amakhosi were expelled Pirates players. Lucas Radebe, who went on to captain Leeds United, is a former Chiefs player. The clubs’ bright gold and black colours can be seen across Joburg.

Bidvest Wits
Known as the Clever Boys, Bidvest Wits was formed in 1921 at the old Transvaal Technical Institute. They are still based at the University of the Witwatersrand, and are known for their youth development policy. Gary Bailey, who went on to play for Manchester United and England, and Richard Gough, who went on to become a Scottish international and represent UK clubs Everton and Glasgow Rangers, played for the team.

Moroka Swallows
Don’t follow me, follow the Birds, the team’s slogan, dates back to 1978; the team, however, goes back to 1947 and Moroka Emergency Camp, a township in Soweto. In 1971, Moroka Swallows became the first-ever soccer team to register as a public company. It was also the first club to wear a full uniform in 1954, pay its players, starting in 1958, join the black professional league in 1961, and receive an official sponsorship, from Teljoy, also in 1971.

Premier Soccer League
Football in South Africa is run by the Premier Soccer League.