Vuvuzelas Branded - England

Well maybe we can’t just go out have our own vuvuzelas branded, but what a great idea for a team or for supporters from a country.

Corporate Gifts

I know that if I were organising a conference within the next few months I would certainly have branded vuvuzelas as corporate gifts.

Clinton Currie from The Vuvuzela Branding Company explains that before their patented method, branding on the vuvuzela was extremely limited.

“With our patented method it is now possible to completely brand 100% of the vuvuzela surface with full colour 360º printing.” He says.

Branded Vuvuzela Photos

As you can see from the photos, they have already had a huge response from England and German fans as well as from fans from all over Europe.

Germany Branded Vuvuzela

The Vuvuzela Brand Company is also negotiating with a few corporates that have shown an interest in our fully branded vuvuzelas.

Bafana Bafana Magic

Although the game was no walkover for the South African National team, there were certainly moments of sheer Bafana magic. Bafana Bafana scored three second-half goals with Siphiwe Tshabalala handing the World Cup hosts the lead with a stunning set-piece. Thulasizwe Mbuyane scored the second after a sweeping attacking move and Lucas Thwala’s injury-time header completed the rout.

But the real magic of the night was the vibe in the Moses Mabhida Stadium, as thousands of Bafana Bafana fans and a few Zimbabwe fans walked for miles ( the parking was soooo far way) through the humid summer night, blowing their vuvuzelas, waving flags and making new friends.

Vuvuzelas of Every Size

Inside the Moses Mabhida Stadium the atmosphere was electric – vuvus of every shape and size; flags, and football shirt and t-shirts and caps got the singing dancing Bafana fans going.

The soccer, well the first half was not good – the second half showed promise. Our boys are going to work hard at their camp in Brazil.

Bafana Bafana Training in Durban

Durban fans have their vuvuzelas ready to cheer Bafana Bafana tonight in the friendly against Zimbabwe at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

And I will be there – my first night match at Moses Mabhida and my fist look at the local Bafana Bafana squad in the steaming Durban summer heat.

Bafana 6 – Swaziland 2

During the friendly when South Africa eased past Swaziland 6-2 in a practice match against Swaziland on the weekend at the Chatsworth Stadium, one could already see some kind of shape, especially in the midfield where the South African team has just come to pieces in the past.

Parreira Expected to Field the Same Side

Parreira is expected to field the same side that started against Swaziland, with Katlego Mphela once again leading the line. The striker will be the focus of Zimbabwe’s defence according to Thomas Sweswe.

“Mphela has proven to be a quality striker and his scoring record bears testimony to that. If left unattended he can be a pain in the neck but we want to mark him out of the game,” the Kaizer Chiefs defender told Football365.co.za.

Bafana have been in Durban since two Fridays ago with Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira (CAP) focusing heavily on trying to get the players to play a possession game. This camp ends after tonight’s game and then there is another, heavy-duty one in Brazil in March.

Zimbabwe Squad no Pushover

The Zimbabwean Squad is not going to be a pushover. They are lead by Mamelodi Sundowns midfield general Esrom Nyandoro and contains plenty of other players based in South Africa playing for the top PSL teams.

Tickets available at Computicket – Via Checkers.

Kickoff: 8.30 pm.

Picture: Bafana Bafana Training in Durban football 365

Like the inaugural match of the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban in December, this is a test run and only 20 000 tickets were sold.

Cape Town Derby Thriller

It is only fitting that the city of Cape Town chose a classic Cape derby to launch this beautiful 68,000-seat stadium. And football fans can expect a hot contest as The People’s Team try to pull a hat-trick of Cape derby wins, having already defeated the Urban Warriors 2-0 (away) and 1–0 (at home) earlier this season.

We know this is only a friendly so, only bragging rights are up for grabs, but this match at the Cape Town Stadium looks like a real Cape Derby Thriller

Cape Town Stadium – Green Features

The multi-purpose Cape Town stadium boasts special “green” features that is aimed to be completely environmentally-friendly, ensuring optimal water and energy saving.

Engen Santos – Proud to Be Part of History

On their website, Engen Santos captain Mogogi Gabonamong comments, “ Looking at pictures of the new stadium I am sure the game will generate a fantastic atmosphere and as we are playing against our neighbours we are very optimistic that this will become a great event in the history of the city.”

Sharing his sentiments, Engen Santos coach Boebie Solomons said, “ I feel very good (to play first on the new Cape Town Stadium) and with the excellent opposition, I am glad we were invited. I’m proud to be part of history being made with the team playing on such a fantastic surface.”

Sail Stadefrance said from the first press interview that only 20 000 tickets will be available for the opening of the Cape Town Stadium when Ajax Cape town play Santos.

This is an all ticket affair but the organisers did not expect to put up sold-out signs 10 days before the event.

Ajax Cape Town – Cape Town is Fanatical About Football

Shooz Mekuto the Ajax Cape Town PRO said on their website, “We are not surprised by the demand for more tickets. Cape Town is fanatical about football and when Ajax and Santos faced each other in the ABSA Cup final in 2007, the Athlone Stadium was packed to the rafters. This just shows that the support for local football is as passionate as ever.”

Billed as the Cape Town Stadium Soccer Festival, the event is hosted by the City of Cape Town and organised by the stadium’s operators, Sail Stadefrance, and includes live music from top South African Afro-fusion band, Freshlyground.

Never a quite instrument, the vuvuzela or stadium horn has elicited a lot of noise, mostly from European journalists during and after the Confederations Cup. Then the Vuvuzela was banned in Austria from their stadiums and after playing here the Japanese became unhappy… well the saga goes on and on. But we love Sepp Blatter and Sepp loves South African soccer!

South African Soccer Supporters

And its a weird thing – or maybe not, but the only South Africans I’ve heard who don’t like the Vuvuzela, happen to be white. Damn, (Eish!) we still have these racial and cultural divides in South Africa… but as most of the soccer supporters in South Africa are black, the power of the vuvu lies with them, the supporters who blow their teams to glory week after week.

The fact remains – South African soccer fans and players love their vuvuzelas. This is the way we communicate our joy and passion for the beautiful game.

Vuvuzela and 2010 World Cup

And as football 365.com columnist, Richard Ferraris remarks about the 2010 World Cup and the Vuvuzela, “…the instrument will be one of the last vestiges of South Africaness at the showpiece, a tournament that very much belongs to FIFA-fo-fum and its not-so-friendly giant corporate mates.

Members of the Shembe faith (Nazareth Baptist Church) blow their trumpets

Shembe Trumpet – izimbomu

Now for the Shembe’s – well they tried in 2006 already, I believe to pull a law suite on Masincedane Sport who holds the patens and mass produces plastic vuvus. Personally, I do not think he has much to worry about because the Shembe trumpet izimbomu is not that much like a Vuvuzela and anyway, the Nazareth Baptist Church factions are usually too busy fighting among themselves to fight against anyone else.

Prophet Isaiah Shembe

Shembe – spokesperson Enoch Mthembu said that the horn was first used by Prophet Isaiah Shembe in 1910 and since then church members had been using it when they danced during worshipping.

The horn, called the imbomu, was originally made from cowhide but was now created out of corrugated iron, he said. It was used by members at the Shembe church’s original Ekuthakameni headquarters in Inanda, where the prophet was buried.

Supporters of the former AmaZulu football club, now the Zulu Royals, started using the horn at matches in about 1992, said Mthembu.

A man demonstrates sounding a shofar at a synagogue in Minnesota.

But Mthembe may not know that the Vuvuzela also closely resembles the kelp horn that fishermen blow and the kudu horn that Shangaans blow on traditional occasions. In the Jewish faith a shofar – a ram horn is blown.

I think the patent belongs to whoever designed the present form of the stadium horn and manufactured it.

Shembe Greed ?

It is also pretty disingenuous of the Shembe’s to jump in now, before the 2010 World Cup, just when there is money to be made – makes one a bit queasy about religion, doesn’t it?

Prices of Vuvuzelas in South Africa

Note: I have seven vuvuzelas, bought six of them at Makro for under R30 each. Yesterday say the official FIFA Vuvuzela (exactly the same, just with a sticker on) for almost R80!

Images:

Shofar by Jonathunder

Shembe Members blowing their trumpets