Somehow it feels like that day that FIFA President Sepp Blatter opened the Envelope and said South Africa was just the other day. The image of Madiba holding the solid gold World Cup Trophy above his head was busying into our minds as we realised that the World Cup� was truly coming to Africa, to South Africa in 2010.

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If anyone is leading the charge against vuvuzelas, especially in the blogosphere, it's Unprofessional Foul.
Not hard to believe they weren't a bit perturbed to hear the once in a lifetime opportunities you have with your cell phones in South Africa:

There is an ad on TV for the VUVUZELA RINGTONE.

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All the stuff being covered outside the unfriendly confines of the award winning Dirty Tackle...

After receiving a three-year contract extension from Chelsea yesterday, Didier Drogba put out the above video statement supposedly directed at the fans. But between the bedroom eyes and intimate tone, it sounds more like a message for his special lady friend.

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I think I can turn that question into a statement. With the World Cup in South Africa approaching, I am inclined to be against the vuvuzelas because, like we saw during Confederations Cup, it allows absolutely no space for chanting which is one of the beauties of being at a football match and screaming your lungs off.

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Stuff to read while you get a glimpse of what El Clasico will look like next year...... Not bad, eh? Still no clue where Peter Crouch's appeal lies. (SoccerLens) Mrs. Steven Gerrard bemoans 'rough' Liverpool nightlife; forgets who hubby is. (The Spoiler) The 5 dirtiest players in the game. (90 minutes on the pitch) Can Russia ever make a dent [. Click to continue reading...

In an event organized by their common sponsor PUMA, Samuel Eto'o met with Jamaican runner Usain Bolt at the offices of L'Equipe (a nationwide french daily newspaper dedicated to sports) in Paris last Wednesday. Even though the two speak different languages, they had quite an interesting conversation, full of laughs, via translator. Click to continue reading...

FIFA rejects calls to ban the wind instrument.

"It's been compared to a deafening swarm of wasps. Or a herd of flatulent elephants."

How about we will never have to suffer through Max Bretos and Christopher Sullivan's whingeing drivel?

For all those naysayers who think SA is going to be a crime haven, the vuvuzela will be the perfect crime stopper.

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Man of the Match: While we saw several good performances against Grenada Stuart Holden, Freddy Adu, and Chad Marshall, to name a few Robbie Rogers was the clear winner of this match's honor.� He ran at the Grenadan defense, provided great service, set up two goals, and scored one himself.

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It's all over. The 2009 Confederations Cup is in the books and Brazil reigns supreme as the greatest team in the world.
Ok, maybe not. Or maybe so ... Hard to tell. What does the Confederations Cup really mean?
One thing the Cup does is serve as a dress rehearsal for the 2010 World Cup. Click to continue reading...

Orlando Pirates Fans
Originally uploaded by notFlunky En estos momentos se juega la final de la Copa Confederaciones .
Si quieres pasar un buen tiempo viendo como EU se adelanta a los brasileños, o quieres que Brasil le de la vuelta o simplemente quieres hacer el característico sonido de la trompeta vuvzela en el estadio como los aficionados de la foto entra aquí y lo podrás hacer. Click to continue reading...

First off, I hope this morning's 3rd place Vuvuzela consolation cup match finds you well. It doesn't find Cesc Fabregas well, or maybe it does find him well and he's just not playing because his international manager is mad at him. I dunno, either way, there isn't much to say about this game since there aren't any Arsenal players on the pitch.

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Try you hand at it while you are waiting for the game to start.Go here and blow the vuvuzela.It's fun.No wonder so many people at the games can't stop themselves from giving it one more blast.

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Pre-game is at 1:00 pm and the boys will kick off at 1:25 pm today on ESPN. While the U.S. Men are in their first-ever FIFA tournament final, five-time FIFA World Cup champions Brazil are making their fourth appearance in the Confederations Cup final and looking for their record-setting third title.

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Seven stories you might have missed this week... Don't like your team's new strip? Change it. Tell us who your team should sign this summer The most disappointing player of all time? So Spain have anything to worry about? Can an African team win the World Cup in 2010? The Vuvuzela: get used to it Four very suspicious "retirements" in Iran Click to continue reading...

Many people, including my good friend Brian Lofrumento over at Premiership Talk have had their say about the Vuvuzela. In case you don't know what a vuvuzela is, just watch a Confederations Cup match and you'll soon find out. Click to continue reading...

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Xabi Alonso on the vuvuzela- shortly before Spain crashed out "I think they should be banned," he said. "We're used to when people shout but not to this trumpet noise which doesn't allow you to concentrate and is unbearable."
Bob Bradley must have given his team some tips on how to block out the noise.

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Play it loud, South Africa! SoccerBlog.com goes on record in favor of the Vuvuzela.

Brazil has the support of its Samba drums, the Bafana Bafana has vuvuzela support.

Don't let a few journalists and European players throw a wet blanket on the celebration.

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Play it loud, South Africa! SoccerBlog.com goes on record in favor of the Vuvuzela.

Brazil has the support of its Samba drums, the Bafana Bafana has vuvuzela support.

Don't let a few journalists and European players throw a wet blanket on the celebration.

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The wacky Sepp Blatter, FIFA's President, the same guy who last summer called Cristiano Ronaldo a slave - singlehandedly re-igniting my sportswriting career, is back at it again.
This time, Blatter says that a major concern ahead of next year's World Cup in South Africa is an accommodation shortage - and he is proposing the berthing of passenger cruise ships off Durban, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth to deal with the issue - setting up floating mini-hotels. Click to continue reading...

If you're travelling to South Africa to watch the World Cup next year, the WDKF's Research Laboratory has just the thing for you and most importantly, your ears. Introducing the WDKF's MAXI-PLUG*, for those very annoying and noisy vuvuzelas. Always keep in mind what Perez Hilton said after his/her altercation with Black Eyed Peas' Will. Click to continue reading...

If we thought Round 1 and 2 were great then Round 3 sure threw up a whole lot of surprises and amazing results!
Honestly, if the Confederations Cup were a preview of the World Cup, I can honestly say that I will start counting down the months, days, hours, minutes and seconds to the World Cup 2010! Click to continue reading...

África do Sul/PortugalFoto: Francisco Paraíso

"...Entre os bafana bafana, os futebolistas da selecção sul-africana, entre aquela maré negra, destacava-se o defesa central Matthew Booth. Além do seu 1,98m (o mais alto da equipa) e da sua cabeça brilhante de rapada, era o único branco da equipa.

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While it's indeed absolutely righteous that the ol' Stars n' Stripes conquered whatever demons they had been wrestling against the Egyptians (and thanks, Brazil!) and offered themselves the opportunity to toreador against the running of the silky and insurmountable Spanish bulls, the fact remains that the country's domestic league has been rendered a forgotten soldier, blanched and drowned out by the androgynous moan of the vuvuzela. Click to continue reading...

And the USMNT is through to the semifinal. They play Spain on Wednesday. South Africa will wile away a couple of Brazil's idle hours on Thursday. I should probably peel off a quick patriotic valediction, or least stumble through 600 words about the decline of Italy (already one of the least buoyant world championship teams in recent memory, and sinking fast), but my brain sounds like a plague of vuvuzelas*, and I want to go look at the parts of each match that I didn't watch while watching parts of the other match and figure out how this mathematical sliver managed to come to pass.

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The Vuvuzela
Originally uploaded by Just_1ce Como saben en estos momentos se juega la Copa Confederaciones en Sudáfrica, dentro de 354 días empezara el mundial, en esas tierras africanas.
Algo que me ha llamado la atención en los partidos es el sonido ambiente, las llamadas Vuvuzelas o cornetas futboleras (Air Horns) que en los años ochenta en México proliferaban y daban ese sonido parecido a un zumbido de panal de abejas. Click to continue reading...

The current controversy over the vuvuzela at the Confederations Cup in South Africa is hardly the first debate about "artificial" noisemakers used by football fans. In different forms, their use has been common across the world for over a century. So is the vuvuzela an organic instrument of South African football culture we should respect, or a commercialised nuisance that should be banned?

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Anyone watching the Confederations Cup over the last week or so can't fail to have heard the continuing, defeaning drone coming from hundreds, if not thousands, of plastic horns known as Vuvuzelas.These are, apparently, extremely popular among South African football fans. However, such is the incessant din produced by this horns, that players (well Xabi Alonso anyway) have complained it knocks Click to continue reading...

Something to read while you enjoy a Fatih Terim teamtalk (I don't think it's really him though)... Setanta loses next season's Premier League UK TV rights (EPL Talk) Man Utd are the 8th most valuable sports brand on earth (Sports Pro Media) Remembering Razor (ThreeMatchBan) Vuvuzela violence? (Studs Up) Anatoly Kuznetsov and Dynamo Kyiv's "almost incredible" story (The Global Game) Rajko [. Click to continue reading...

The matches to watch after you realize that planting a bomb inside a football can be dangerous.

Saturday

Iraq v New Zealand at Ellis Park (Confederations Cup) I'm thinking New Zealand should have sent the All Blacks instead.

Spain v South Africa at Free State The only way South Africa have a chance is if the home fans play the note on their vuvuzela's that can give Spaniards a sudden bout of explosive diarrhea.

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Round 2 matches have brought just as much excitement as Round 1 had. Though the focus after Round 1 had been on the use of Vuvuzela horn at the stadiums, the Round 2 matches were no less exhilirating. So, let's look at the numbers after Round 2.
We saw the Italians upset by some excellent Egyptian defence and goalkeeping. Click to continue reading...

He may play for Liverpool (for now), but Mr. Alonso has found a place in my footy heart after his comments concerning those vuvuzeling vuvuzelas at the Confederations Cup in South Africa...from The Guardian's daily football email, the Fiver:

Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso has bravely sounded a clarion call for the instruments to be outlawed.

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So we're two matches into our Confederations Cup campaign and we've already been eliminated.� Now it's time to start asking the all-important question what did we learn?

1. Horns absolutely need to be banned from all World Cup matches.

2. We are awesome at getting players sent off.

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1. Will noisy vuvuzela trumpets ruin fans' enjoyment of the 2010 World Cup? [@ BigSoccer] 2. Petr Cech and Pepe Reina are text buddies. Bless. [@ This is Anfield] 3. Socceroos' Dutch coach sings the Aussie national anthem. Badly....

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So says South African journalist Chris Moerdyk in a scathing editorial News24.com, a South African news web site.
Take a look ... also, make sure to read some of the harsh comments Mr. Moerdyk receives for his opinion, of which I agree ...
Confederations Cup important? Sure, I suppose so. Click to continue reading...