News
Mpuma community to benefit from 2010 venture
22 July - The construction of the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga is taking place on 118 hectares of land which has recently been restored to the Matsafeni community.
World Cup's green legacy for Joburg
22 July - More trees, clean rivers and green playing fields are some of the long-lasting benefits from the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ that Joburg’s residents will enjoy.
See you in 2010 Madiba: Fifa
21 July - Fifa President Sepp Blatter has promised to see former South African President Nelson Mandela at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa™.
Eskom engages municipalities for 2010
18 July - An Eskom project team is working with the metro and municipal electricity departments to ensure the reliability of electricity supply to the stadiums, broadcasting centres, base camps and venues for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™, the power utility said in its annual report released on Thursday.
Nelson Mandela - SA's 2010 envoy
18 July - "The world cup will help unify people, if there is one thing in this planet that has the power to bind people together it is soccer."
Gauteng ahead of schedule for 2010
17 July - Gauteng is ahead of schedule with the construction of all host stadia ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup™.
Port Elizabeth to hold 2010 security exercise
16 July - The army, navy, police and airforce are set to descend on Port Elizabeth later in July to conduct a training exercise ahead of the 2010 World Cup, police said on Wednesday.
Durban's Moses Mabhida to be a year-round event
15 July - Durban has planned ahead to ensure that it's R2.6-billion Moses Mabhida Stadium is not only a single code sporting facility, but a sustainable, multi-function events theatre promising to attract people 365 days a year.
Volunteering open to all SA residents
15 July - The Local Organising Committee (LOC) says volunteering for the 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup™ is open to everyone who is a legal resident of South Africa.
World Cup readiness test for Mpumalanga
11 July -The Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup, which will see countries from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) battling it out, will also be a test for Mpumalanga’s preparations towards hosting the 2010 Fifa World™ Cup matches.
2010 final venue wows Fifa
11 July - Fifa Secretary General Jerome Valcke says he was very impressed with his first visit to the iconic Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
700 days left to 2010 Fifa World Cup in SA
10 July - With 700 days left to the kickoff of the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ to be hosted in Africa for the first time, South Africa has made considerable strides to ensure that the World Cup will be a resounding success.
South Africans heed call for volunteers
10 July - The Local Organising Committee (LOC) have reported a resounding response to their call for South Africans to volunteer during the 2009 Confederations Cup™ to be held in South Africa.
27 March 2008
Get your Vuvuzela ready for 2010
SA2010 reporter
Tshwane - When Fifa President Sepp Blatter pulled out a name from an envelope and announced that South Africa would host the 2010 Fifa World Cup™, the country was awash with celebrations.
In May 2004, oozing sounds of ‘hoorays’ and ‘yeahs’ filled the air, but in the midst of that unforgettable moment, only one sound made the celebrations unique to South Africans – a distinct sound of a Vuvuzela. What is a Vuvuzela and what significance does it have to South African football?
When Fifa invited former South African president Nelson Mandela to Switzerland, he ordered hundreds of Vuvuzelas to be taken to Zurich to support South Africa's 2010 World Cup bid.
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel tooted one, so did Sepp Blatter and many other prominent figures.
South Africa’s very own public relations supreme and current Platinum Stars Public Relations Officer Putco Mafani speaks very fondly of the Vuvuzela.
Arguably, Mafani started the “Vuvuzela movement” at his days at Kaizer Chiefs.
Speaking to SA2010, Mafani explains Vuvuzela as a cue instrument for action in the field of play.
“South African players know when they hear the sound of a Vuvuzela, it is time for action, the players are used to it and they associate it with playing,” he says.
Made from plastic and discharging a jarring sound mimicking an elephant, the Vuvuzela has over the last couple of years become the symbol of South African soccer.
The Platinum Stars Communications Manager says the Vuvuzela originates from the African Horn which was used to mark the beginning of battles and the start of celebrations.
“First, the horn is an African instrument and back in the days it was in wars and is still being used to mark celebrations. Because South Africans do not have access to the animal horn that was used back then, they use the Vuvuzela and when it is blown, you are guaranteed to get a reaction from people.
“I remember back in my days at Kaizer Chiefs, I’d enter the stadium and shout “say’ iVuvuzela” [blow the Vuvuzela] and immediately the fans would start blowing Vuvuzelas and that was the cue for players to start playing and it used to get the mood right,” says Mafani.
Mafani says that the use of Vuvuzelas in local football has grown to also inspire song and dance at the stadiums.
“The instrument helps to inspire soccer supporters to start dancing and singing, if you look at Bloemfontein Celtic [PSL club] they have come up with creative ways of using the Vuvuzela, ways that include choreography and singing,” he says.
With the 2010 Fifa World Cup fast approaching, Mafani thinks the Vuvuzela will play a major role in making the event distinctly African and says it would enhance the face of the game.
“There is a place for Vuvuzelas in 2010; the event will be like no other World Cup in the World.
“The use of the instrument has extended to other African countries, supporters from Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast were blowing Vuvuzelas at matches during the African Cup of Nations recently, it has become an African symbol of celebrations, he says.
Mafani says a Vuvuzela will cost you between R25 and R30.
Orlando Pirates number 1 supporter, Mzion Mofokeng, says the love for the Vuvuzela is ‘contagious’ and believes that the instrument will make the 2010 World Cup a memorable one for local and international fans. He says the Vuvuzela will certainly add a whole new experience and one that will last a lifetime.
“I remember when I was in Ghana for the Afcon, supporters of other countries kept on asking me about the instrument and they were very excited to see me blowing it and wanted me to show them how it is done.
“Come 2010 [World Cup], those who will be visiting South Africa will be treated to a unique African sound of the Vuvuzela, says an excited Mofokeng.
Mofokeng credits the origins of the Vuvuzela to his Kaizer Chiefs counterpart Saddam Maake and says they are planning to record a Vuvuzela song together in anticipation of the 2010 World Cup.
Maake, the long-standing self-declared Kaizer Chiefs’ number 1 supporter, says he and the Vuvuzela have a very long history and claims he is responsible for the instrument’s use in modern football.
“I started the Vuvuzela back in 1989 and we used to call it all sorts of names, some used to call it phalaphala, trumpet and so on, but I came up with the name Vuvuzela,” he says.
Maake says it is important for every football fan to learn how to blow the vuvuzela as it keeps the teams going.
Beville Bachmann of Masincedane Sport, a Cape Town-based Proudly South African sports marketing company and Vuvuzela manufacturing giant says the 2010 World Cup will not be complete without the instruments.
“The 2010 World Cup would not be reaching its full status of a truly African World Cup without the atmosphere which the Vuvuzela has created at our stadiums and other event venues.”
The Vuvuzela stands out because of its in-your-face [not to mention ears] presence. This is why it is the choice of celebration by the fans and corporates for their promotions as well, he says.
Bechmann says they have produced “a few hundred thousand Vuvuzelas to date” and says they are intending producing “at least 1 million.”
He says they have received numemrous requests from other countries and football clubs wanting to order the Vuvuzelas.
“We are constantly being asked from sources outside the country, mainly in the EU [European Union] and our African countries.
It does not really matter who claims to have started the Vuvuzela or made it famous, all that matters is the instrument has risen to be recognised as a symbol of South African football will probably be the most recognised instrument during the 2010 Fifa World Cup.