Johannesburg - They might be driving some players and supporters to distraction, but World Cup organisers on Saturday decreed that the ear-splitting vuvuzela trumpet was the symbol of the tournament."Everybody loves vuvuzelas," Rich Mkhondo, spokesperson for the Local Organising Committee said at a press conference. "They are the symbol of the tournament."The tuneless plastic horns, which generate more decibels than a drum or chainsaw, have split opinion almost as much as they have split ears.Commentators struggled to make themselves heard during the opening matches of the month-long tournament which kicked off on Friday. Many spectators have complained of headaches and some players say they affect their concentration.Part of African football cultureHowever FIFA president Sepp Blatter has said they are part of African football culture and South Africa's goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune complained they were not loud enough at the hosts' tournament opener against Mexico."We want more support and louder vuvuzelas when we play our next match against Uruguay in Pretoria on Wednesday," he said. "We could hardly hear the fans who were quiet at stages during the game."Mkhondo said that no complaints about the vuvuzela had been lodged, while a spokesperson for FIFA said that fans had so far respected calls not to blow their horns at sensitive moments."A few days ago, FIFA asked the fans to respect the ceremonies, speeches and anthems," said the spokesperson Nicolas Maingot. "We have had no problem with that".
Follow Sport24 on Twitter and Facebook
Your Name
* Your Email
* Recipient's name
* Recipient's email
Your message
If you want to email this page to more than one person, just put a semicolon ";" between the email addresses. * = Compulsory
Yes - it's just back to daily life now
Sort of - I will feel better each passing day
No - I miss the vibe and bustle so much it hurts
Don't care - didn't get into it anyway
View Results | Vote Archive
36% Yes - it's just back to daily life now
20% Sort of - I will feel better each passing day
33% No - I miss the vibe and bustle so much it hurts
11% Don't care - didn't get into it anyway
Vote Archive
Twitter Follow Sport24 on Twitter
Newsletters Sign up for Sport24's Morning Glory newsletter
Blogs Yes your opinion counts. Get it out there
WIN Enter and win with Sport24!
Mobile Sport24 on your mobile phone - WAP, alerts, downloads, services
BlackBerry Stay in the loop on your BlackBerry
iPhone Latest Sport24 news on your iPhone
Facebook "Like" Sport24's Facebook page
TV schedule Plan your couch time with our searchable sport TV guide
RSS Feeds Sport news delivered really simply.