Chameleon PR

Two weeks have passed since England’s national football team arrived home from the FIFA World Cup, and the buzz from South Africa is still ringing in their ears. The buzz, however, is not the result of excessive celebration after winning the world cup, Germany’s fantastic performance in the first knockout stage saw to that. Instead, the ringing was the result of the Vuvuzela, an instrument so annoying that many fans in the UK turned away from the action.

The 2ft plastic horn, which produces a droning monotone note, became the unofficial symbol of the World Cup in South Africa, with fans from every nation embracing the instrument on match day. Football lovers in the UK, however, were not so embracive, comparing the noise to ‘a swarm of killer bees’.

Research carried out by OnePoll.com revealed that six out of ten fans who tuned in at home were doing so with the volume turned down in order to silence the constant horn-blowing, and over 70 percent of those interviewed called for the instrument to be banned from stadiums altogether.

The criticism did not come from fans alone. High profile footballers such as Portugal and Real Madrid ace Cristiano Ronaldo also condemned the noise, stating: ‘It is difficult for anyone on the pitch to concentrate. A lot of players don’t like them, but they are going to have to get used to them.’ Websites, such as antivuvuzelafilter.com, even went as far as to create a download which generated a series of inverted sound waves in a bid to cancel out the noise.

But did the instruments really ruin the World Cup? Sure, the constant droning of a single note can irritate even the most hardcore football fan, but was it in any way different to the drunken, and often abusive, chants screamed across English terraces?

Reports suggesting the vuvuzela could have been banned from stadiums were quickly quashed by FIFA chief Sepp Blatter, and I for one welcomed the move. The vuvuzela, despite its irritating tendencies, is a part of the footballing tradition in South Africa, and something which the locals are proud of. If the instruments were banned, would the South American dancers, who flock to stadiums up and down their continent, also be repressed in Brazil during the 2014 World Cup? Would the Mexican wave follow suit?

Although I’m in little rush to purchase ‘the horn of Africa’ myself, the vuvuzela should be embraced as a colourful aspect of the World Cup, one which gave locals the chance to express themselves to the world. I do still hope it’s confined to South Africa alone, but with Sainsbury’s pushing to sell 75,000 vuvuzelas by the tournament’s end, you can expect to hear the unforgettable sound at a football ground near you.

Until then, we still have one more semi-final to look forward to, with my money placed firmly on Germany to avenge their Euro 2008 final loss at the hands of Spain. Indeed, whoever progresses from tonight’s semi-final, expect a mouthwatering clash against the Netherlands in Cape Town on Sunday, with the Dutch aiming to lift their first Jules Rimet Trophy.

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