^^
http://www.rojadirecta.com/ has lots of links, don't know which are working though.Check out the "no p2p" ones if you don't have programms installed.

Today is the day, I'm sure will be a great World Cup, colorful and cheerful.

¡¡¡VIVA MÉXICO!!!

now im watching SA vs Mexico

it 2am now in New Zealand Wellington

Come on South Africa

Hardcore.

Are you staying up for the Uruguay/France game, too? :nuts:

^^ Its the WORLD CUP !! people dare to do such things =D

Oh and WHY WASN'T THERE AN OPENING CEREMONY >=( i really wanted to see something even if it was just 15 minutes.

There was, the stadium was half empty for it though which was a shame.

South Africa(rank 83rd) vs Mexico(rank 17th)
draw 1-1 :ohno:

SA did great

so sad Africa for Africa....

at the whole you do the best....

anyway i really like the opening ceremony...anyone know the songs completely when the opening ceremony....it's really nice to hear...

I'm sorry but if they will still make this terrible noise it will be the worst WC in history.

I'm sorry but if they will still make this terrible noise it will be the worst WC in history.

it thinks it is not a big problem...

the other country can through an African in several football event, although an African supporter use that voices....

I'm sorry but if they will still make this terrible noise it will be the worst WC in history.

^^ Then don't watch! ;) God knows what you want to hear instead.

Great job guys
All the best to SA
Congratulations for the achievement

^^ Then don't watch! ;) God knows what you want to hear instead.

Cheering, singing, noise which reflects what's actually going on on the pitch perhaps rather than a uniform buzz all the way through which doesn't change? It was brilliant when Mexico scored as they all stopped blowing and for a wonderful minute or so we heard the fans cheering. :cheers:

It IS annoying, but I could just about block it out thankfully. Not watching isn't an option, trust me ;)

As for the footy, Mexico really aren't that good at scoring are they? :lol: They should have put S.A. away quite easily given how much possession they had in the South African half, particularly in the first half. But well done to S.A. for not losing their spirit and a great first goal for this world cup.

Both need to play a bit better than they did today if they're going to get out of the group and progress though.

Congrats to the whole of South Africa though, vuvuzelas aside it was a brilliant start to the tournament.

^^ Then don't watch! ;) God knows what you want to hear instead.

Probably singing and cheers.The bee hive noise kills the football atmosphere.

it thinks it is not a big problem...


It's not only my opinion.
In pub where i saw it (with about 100 peoples) we had to ask for turn off voice and play music. I have never seen anything like that before.

^^ Then don't watch! ;) God knows what you want to hear instead.

As others have said, we want to hear a proper football atmosphere. The human voice is an infinitely more versatile and interesting instrument than the one note vuvuzela.

SA has done a great job with the stadia. And it is lovely to see the genuine pride and excitement of the South African people (and the rest of Africa, for that matter) now that the first World Cup in Africa has begun. I'm sure that they will be wonderful hosts over the next month.

The vuvuzela is the only criticism that I have. I suspect that I will have to watch all the games with the TV sound turned off. Which is a shame.

Vuvuzela could spread colds and flu

http://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/soccer/article498010.ece/Vuvuzela-could-spread-colds-and-flu

^^ Then don't watch! ;) God knows what you want to hear instead.

Sry, but I have to agree! Such a terrible noise! It destroyed almost my WC-feeling!!!

Stadium 10/10 Points
colours: 10/10
opening ceremony: 10/10
bafana bafana 10/10
Match: 8/10
athmosphere: 1/10 =killed by the mad vuvuzelas:-(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

Please, africans, do you really need these horrible plastic things to create a good athmosphere?

As others have said, we want to hear a proper football atmosphere.

And right there is where I stop you. Who are you to say what a "proper" football atmosphere is? This is a South African World Cup, and South Africa's football culture is going to be prominent as a result.

The trouble isn't the noise, it's the fact that it has no nuances. It's white noise, constant and unremitting. When a player scores you don't hear his name chanted you hear the horns, when a ref makes a bad decision you don't hear boos you hear the horns; the only time you don't hear them drowning out everything else is when the opposition scores. It doesn't reflect anything of the action.

Yes, it is a football atmosphere, but it's one which most people outside of South Africa hate. There's really no point arguing with that, that's just the way it is. Sorry. I think we'll just have to agree to disagree.

And many people, like me, will enjoy this world cup despite the buzzing. And I'm not one to say it should be banned either. Your arguments about culture and football in Africa all make perfect sense Lydon, but that doesn't stop the noise being annoying!!

And right there is where I stop you. Who are you to say what a "proper" football atmosphere is? This is a South African World Cup, and South Africa's football culture is going to be prominent as a result.

It's actually the world's World Cup. South Africa are just this year's host. But let's not get into semantics.

Yes, of course, we know that the vuvuzela is a feature of South African football. And no one's trying to ban it.

But that doesn't mean that we have to like it. We don't. It sounds awful. It's a tedious monotone. It means that a blind person listening to the game can't get any sense of the drama on the pitch from listening to the crowd's reaction.

So you really shouldn't get so defensive about it. We have praised everything else relating to South Africa's efforts and the enthusiasm of the South African people. You'll just have to take this one criticism on the chin.

They're not that bad - I'd forgot they were even there up until Mexico scored and the place fell silent.

Hopefully they'll get drowned out in the games involving the big European sides who tend to be more vocal in their support (Germany, England, Netherlands etc.) though. Infact, tomorrow night should be fun with the brass band competing against them...

I completely agree about it being extremely annoying. I despise the things myself. But the constant complaints about them are getting equally as annoying ;)

^^ It was the first match, once we're a few days in the complaints will die down I'm sure.

To you all:

http://magiarubronegra.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/vuvuzela.jpg

hehehehehe

mexico forgive to south africa now should be win to next two matchs, for advanced to second round

And right there is where I stop you. Who are you to say what a "proper" football atmosphere is? This is a South African World Cup, and South Africa's football culture is going to be prominent as a result.

It is a total lack of respect for other cultures to bring a Vuvuzela when South Africa are not playing.

The Vuvuzela should off course be banned because a lot of European TV channels are losing viewers because of it. And the european TV channels are paying for the show.

Yes Mo Rush, your prediction was correct, the opening ceremony was awful and amateur :lol: Maybe you can answer the following questions for me:

1. Why were there so many empty seats ?
2. Is there a reason as to why it wasn't a night time ceremony ?

http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/AP101206011657b.jpg

2. Is there a reason as to why it wasn't a night time ceremony ?


If it was a night time ceremony we couldn't have another match today in Cape Town. In Germany 2006 was the same, opening in Munich was in the afternoon as far as I remember and the second match after in the evening.

If it was a night time ceremony we couldn't have another match today in Cape Town. In Germany 2006 was the same, opening in Munich was in the afternoon as far as I remember and another one after.

Thanks for that :cheers:

Uruguay - France = 3-0

What an awful game that was, unsurprising really though considering it involved the French.

France = 0 like always! They move some things like in all international competitions with the help of the Mr. Platini ! lol

Yes Mo Rush, your prediction was correct, the opening ceremony was awful and amateur :lol: Maybe you can answer the following questions for me:

1. Why were there so many empty seats ?
2. Is there a reason as to why it wasn't a night time ceremony ?

http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/AP101206011657b.jpg

I couldn't care less about opening ceremonies - either at World Cups or Olympic Games. They have become merely ever more bloated pissing contests between successive countries (or cities). I imagine that a lot of the fans who had tickets for today's game at Soccer City have a similar low opinion of opening ceremonies. They only want to see football.

Yes Mo Rush, your prediction was correct, the opening ceremony was awful and amateur :lol: Maybe you can answer the following questions for me:

1. Why were there so many empty seats ?
2. Is there a reason as to why it wasn't a night time ceremony ?

http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/AP101206011657b.jpg

2. Traffic jam on the roads delay, so people were late.

The Open ceremony was nice and simple, it wasn't bad lol. People on the tv have said it brought flavour, maybe because most people never seen a African event before.

^^ It was the first match, once we're a few days in the complaints will die down I'm sure.

Alas we've been hearing them for months over in the SA forum :lol:

It is a total lack of respect for other cultures to bring a Vuvuzela when South Africa are not playing.

The Vuvuzela should off course be banned because a lot of European TV channels are losing viewers because of it. And the european TV channels are paying for the show.

You can see you're not in SA. I lost count long ago as to how many tourists I've seen running around blowing their vuvuzelas!

1. Why were there so many empty seats ?

Because people were still arriving at the stadium? Isn't that much obvious (considering it very clearly started filling up as it went along)?

France = 0 like always! They move some things like in all international competitions with the help of the Mr. Platini ! lol

I don't know about "always". The France team was a delight to watch when ZZ was still playing.

But you're right that this current French team, with this coach, aren't much fun to watch.

2. Traffic jam on the roads delay, so people were late.

The Open ceremony was nice and simple, it wasn't bad lol. People on the tv have said it brought flavour, maybe because most people never seen a African event before.

I didn't see it but, if that is an accurate description, then that's exactly what an opening ceremony should be. I would only add the quality of brevity to that list!

If there's going to be a worse match at this world cup than that I don't want to see it.

South Africa and Mexico won by the 0-0 draw tonight, so even more reason to celebrate tonight :D

South Africa and Mexico won by the 0-0 draw tonight, so even more reason to celebrate tonight :D

Are you guys happy with your 1-1 draw?

Could have been so much better for you but for the width of a post. I reckoned that you also had a decent shout for a penalty midway through the second half when, at 1-0, your player was nudged off the ball just as he was shooting.

Are you guys happy with your 1-1 draw?

Could have been so much better for you but for the width of a post. I reckoned that you also had a decent shout for a penalty midway through the second half when, at 1-0, your player was nudged off the ball just as he was shooting.

A win would have been better of course, but Mexico are ranked around 70 places higher than we are in the FIFA rankings, so we're definitely happy. At to that the 0-0 draw between France and Uruguay and there's definitely reason to celebrate!

A win would have been better of course, but Mexico are ranked around 70 places higher than we are in the FIFA rankings, so we're definitely happy. At to that the 0-0 draw between France and Uruguay and there's definitely reason to celebrate!

Well, what are you doing in here, then?

Get out there and partayyyyyy! ;)

I couldn't care less about opening ceremonies - either at World Cups or Olympic Games. They have become merely ever more bloated pissing contests between successive countries (or cities). I imagine that a lot of the fans who had tickets for today's game at Soccer City have a similar low opinion of opening ceremonies. They only want to see football.

I love them, could be because I am a designer. I appreciate the amount of imagination and creativity that goes into these productions. I also think that these events are more effective at night, a shame that it had to be done during the day.


Because people were still arriving at the stadium? Isn't that much obvious (considering it very clearly started filling up as it went along)?

I didn't torture myself that long, I switched the telly off long before the game started. One would think that people would arrive on time and take advantage of the entire spectacle - from the beginning to the end. I guess that things are done differently over there (the traffic woes might be a better explanation ;))

I'm not happy with the draw:no:

Mexico created the opportunities to take advantage in the first half and manage the game, but did not take advantage, now are two very difficult games, it is useless to have controlled the game if you do not take many chances and committing defensive errors.

South Africa is clearly easier than Uruguay or France, so it will be difficult for Mexico.

Mexico is not eliminated in group stage since Argentina 1978, I hope this will continue

I hope that Mexico and Uruguay advance. :banana:

^^:banana:i agree group A is getting very interesting everybody with 1 point, everything could happen

Day 1 was pretty cool. I have a headache but survived the vuvuzela (next time i wll put my tv on mute). It was impossible to hear the anthem of FIFA in the second game. Soccer City was a spectacle. I hope games even better tomorrow. Go Nigeria!

Group A still wide open!

France is so boring it's unbelievable. The worst thing it's going on for ages!! Since zizou retired it's unwatchable. And Greece plays tomorrow -,- Dear god, another boring team and another boring 0-0 coming up.

And that monotonous sound makes a boring game even more boring then it is!

Edit: did I forgot to mention it was boring? :)

Vuvuzelas suck. Just one constant noise all f'ing game long...doesn't matter whether the score is 5-0, 0-5 or 0-0. :|

Vuvuzelas suck

You're doing it wrong :lol:

RSA vs MEX was awesome, I think I fell asleep during the Uruguay France game. And those horns are annoying! They were cool for about 5 minutes, then my volume was going down down down. My headache is gone now since the France game ended awhile ago.

Can't wait until tomorrow! USA vs England will not be boring, although I'm hoping for a win, a draw would be fine with me. All pressure is on England.

Vuvuzela is ruining the tv cast.- It's horrible!!!!.- Man, I turned down the volume at the 15 min. point.- By the way, the turf in Soccer City is HARD!!, the ball bounced up like it would in concrete.

I love them, could be because I am a designer. I appreciate the amount of imagination and creativity that goes into these productions. I also think that these events are more effective at night, a shame that it had to be done during the day.

Agreed. It's really hard to pull of something dramatic without the use of light or the absence of it. Thinking back to some of the amazing things they've done at Olympic opening ceremonies, they wouldn't have been possible during the day. It would have been nice seeing the stadium all lit up at night too!

It's a shame, but I understand the necessity of it. I think 2PM is also a fairly neutral time, meaning more people would have been able to watch the event. Strangely, many journos and people in general seemed to think it was excellent. I didn't think it was anything all that wonderful but hey, I guess the popular vote is what counts :nuts:

(the traffic woes might be a better explanation ;))

Yes, people took an age to arrive because of traffic. That being said, it seems many people left leaving until the last minute as some of my Twitter acquaintances who left early had an easy time getting in.

Agreed. It's really hard to pull of something dramatic without the use of light or the absence of it. Thinking back to some of the amazing things they've done at Olympic opening ceremonies, they wouldn't have been possible during the day. It would have been nice seeing the stadium all lit up at night too!

It's a shame, but I understand the necessity of it. I think 2PM is also a fairly neutral time, meaning more people would have been able to watch the event. Strangely, many journos and people in general seemed to think it was excellent. I didn't think it was anything all that wonderful but hey, I guess the popular vote is what counts :nuts:



Yes, people took an age to arrive because of traffic. That being said, it seems many people left leaving until the last minute as some of my Twitter acquaintances had an easy time getting in.

My standards are very, very high, I am not easily impressed - quite annoying to be me ;) ... I hope that organizers of the rugby world cup are over there so that they can learn a thing or three. I would hate to see an empty Eden Park (easier to fill ;)) for the opening ceremony.

Thanks for the explanation and enjoy :cheers:

Yay! Blanco is back! :) And vuvuzelas suck ass. My friend thought i was watching some kinda nature show about angry bees. :nuts:

I agree that France is not the same as other years, and miss the great Zidane (for me the best player in history), they still have the players to move forward.

The vuvuzelas are very annoying after half an hour, I prefer South American and European chants.

I hope that Latinos get ahead in this group.

You're doing it wrong :lol:

Right. they blow! :lol:

Some of these (http://files.posterous.com/infographie/EdAFEaJGFEbgiiwhoGmxqrxqpzGFwCljcugdaIxABFscqgHFtmqajCskuxrl/media_httpfilessharen_DdfCl.jpg.scaled500.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=1C9REJR1EMRZ83Q7QRG2&Expires=1276294001&Signature=d1sB8IMvDri%2F6CaxCBIV9%2FDvZck%3D) proved to be true today.

http://www.kimag.es/share/62948865.png

http://www.kimag.es/share/5480405.png

The trouble isn't the noise, it's the fact that it has no nuances. It's white noise, constant and unremitting. When a player scores you don't hear his name chanted you hear the horns, when a ref makes a bad decision you don't hear boos you hear the horns; the only time you don't hear them drowning out everything else is when the opposition scores. It doesn't reflect anything of the action.

Exactly. It's like listening to a lecturer with a monothonic voice. Vuvuzelas = monothonic, irritating noise. It's like a thousand bees flying in your head all the time.

Besides, are the guys even able to watch the game when they're playing with their vuvuzelas?

Those vuvuzelas are completely destroying the atmosphere in the stadiums. No chants, no choreos, nothing, just the same monotonous noise no matter what's going on

awful embarrassing opening. great match. cape town rocked and people arrived on time :)

Those vuvuzelas are completely destroying the atmosphere in the stadiums. No chants, no choreos, nothing, just the same monotonous noise no matter what's going on

There aren't many chants in World Cups, at least not continuous like at club level.

There aren't many chants in World Cups, at least not continuous like at club level.

Are you kidding me? England, Germany, Italy, France etc...all have nice chants...

He is totally right. Vuvuzelas are just destroying the atmosphere. I can't listen the crowd reactions, it really sucks...

Are you kidding me? England, Germany, Italy, France etc...all have nice chants...

He is totally right. Vuvuzelas are just destroying the atmosphere. I can't listen the crowd reactions, it really sucks...

Yes I know they have chants and songs (I never said they didn't) but are they chanting and singing them before the game and during the 90 minutes of game time?

Sorry...I´m in the anti-vuvuzelas side...bloody annoying.

And what´s with letting people in with glass bottles? :dunno:

Yes Mo Rush, your prediction was correct, the opening ceremony was awful and amateur :lol: Maybe you can answer the following questions for me:

1. Why were there so many empty seats ?
2. Is there a reason as to why it wasn't a night time ceremony ?


Well, This again raises question what would be the future of these stadia if we find empty seats for such a gr8 event?
Is it really worth it?

Anyway, Congratulations to SA for having the event started successfully.
It is a gr8 achievement.:)
Hope this event gets completed in a smooth way with just duels on the soccer field.
All the best to all the SA fans on this forum and SA forumers.:)

great stadium, to bad that FIFA didn't put an specific section for the away fans, there were 10,000+ mexicans in the stadium, but were in small spots all over the place.
I remember back in 2006, almost all of the fans of each team were toghether generating a better athmosphere. (on the good side, fans from both teams can be all toghether in a friendly mood)

And please, please, ban vuvuzelas from the stadiums, is killing the athmosphere, you cant hear the crowd reactions, even during the goals. same sound all the freaking 90 minutes.

awful embarrassing opening. great match. cape town rocked and people arrived on time :)


I didn't like it either and the fact that it lasted 5 minutes made it worse but the large majority of us football loving people careless about the opening ceremonies. What made it worse is when they tried to fit everything in 5 minutes.

In regards to the Vuvuzelas, I have grown to love the instrument and will keep on blowing it. I must say I also get irritated y foreigners who just blows them around Sandton but they new to the instrument and I guess we should give them a break. To the haters of the instrument, you in for trouble as your friends who are in the country are buying them in numbers :)

And please, please, ban vuvuzelas from the stadiums, is killing the athmosphere, you cant hear the crowd reactions, even during the goals. same sound all the freaking 90 minutes.

Yeah those horns are annoying. Almost as bad as the incessant horn blowing at Mexico's home games ;)

Yeah those horns are annoying. Almost as bad as the incessant horn blowing at Mexico's home games ;)

Haha, well in Mexico we do use a similar horn but it's just on the beginning, we take or time to sing "Cielito Lindo" or shout "Ole, Ole" ;)

Haha, well in Mexico we do use a similar horn but it's just on the beginning, we take or time to sing "Cielito Lindo" or shout "Ole, Ole" ;)

Y la ola!

I love to watch football games, even if it's between 2 sides I don't care about and hear the different fans singing: The 'God Save the Queen' that always starts about 80-85 minutes in, the fantastic goooaall noise the Spanish/Portuguese etc. fans make when they score. In this WC however, all of that could be destroyed because...

As predicted the Vuvazulas are incredibly annoying. They should have been banned for games that don't involve South Africa, because even in the Uruguay-France game they still drowned out any other noise.

They don't contribute to the atmosphere at all - how do they encourage the team? Where's the passion? Even when SA scored, I didn't see 90,000 people jumping around in delerium, I saw half the people not really caring that much, still blowing on the damn things!

If I can't hear the England fans singing their hearts out tonight (which they will be) then I will be really pissed off, along with the millions of others watching.

As for the footy, the first game was a good watch, the 2nd was predictably French. Group A is even wider open now than it was before it kicked off. :)

Remember this is an African World Cup. Maybe if it were brought to our continent sooner, fans wouldve become acclimitised to the Vuvuzela by now. All I say is sing louder. We had a blast and it will continue to be a blast.

^^ :ohno: Enough of the bloody moaning. You are NOT here, so you cannot comment on the vibe created in the stadiums, on the trains, on the fan walk etc. Trust me, in person in the stadium, they're actually not annoying. They are more of an instrument to create spirit and actually create little annoyance. On the TV, the drone is constant, but in person, it's an unbeatable vibe.

The World Cup belongs to those who came to enjoy it, those who play in the stadiums and those who crowd our cities, first and foremost. The TV audience on the other side of the world comes second to that. This is our World Cup and our visitors' World Cup and the people of all nationalities that are here are completely absorbed by the vibe. This World Cup does not belong to England... sorry, but this is a global game.

Get used to it, the Vuvuzelas are here and in person, they're awesome. The spirit is unbeatable. And I wasn't a fan of them pre-World Cup.

Exactly. It's like listening to a lecturer with a monothonic voice. Vuvuzelas = monothonic, irritating noise. It's like a thousand bees flying in your head all the time.

Besides, are the guys even able to watch the game when they're playing with their vuvuzelas?

Got used to it already, and too be honest i think its something unique to the South African Edition of the FIFA World Cup, they had to make it different some how.

^^ :ohno: Enough of the bloody moaning. You are NOT here, so you cannot comment on the vibe created in the stadiums, on the trains, on the fan walk etc. Trust me, in person in the stadium, they're actually not annoying. They are more of an instrument to create spirit and actually create little annoyance. On the TV, the drone is constant, but in person, it's an unbeatable vibe.

The World Cup belongs to those who came to enjoy it, those who play in the stadiums and those who crowd our cities, first and foremost. The TV audience on the other side of the world comes second to that. This is our World Cup and our visitors' World Cup and the people of all nationalities that are here are completely absorbed by the vibe. This World Cup does not belong to England... sorry, but this is a global game.

Get used to it, the Vuvuzelas are here and in person, they're awesome. The spirit is unbeatable. And I wasn't a fan of them pre-World Cup.

If you think it's just English fans who don't like this you've obviously ignored the last 5 pages of this thread. OK, they may be great in the stadiums but how can we judge that when we're not there; we can only say what we see, or in this case hear? The truth is they're pissing off a lot of people watching on TV. And furthermore, you're being a little naive. I don't suppose you'd mind one jot if I said the overhead stadium shots looked fantastic on TV? You would, I take it, say that doesn't matter. Take the criticism with the praise. You can't have it all one way.

Most of what I've seen and heard has been brilliant and I think this is going to be a gerat world cup, for TV viewers and visitors. But most people watching on TV are complaining about the vuvuzelas. Just accept that.

@Qatar 2022 World Cup

So where are Qatar in this world cup? Hardly credible if they want the World Cup.

^^ Its the WORLD CUP !! people dare to do such things =D

Oh and WHY WASN'T THERE AN OPENING CEREMONY >=( i really wanted to see something even if it was just 15 minutes.

There was.
It was average, very colourful, but I've seen better.
Nice music and that haha.

Man, I didnt like that game one bit haha.
-_- Mexico should of dominated, apparently the ball projection is fail.
Haha.

SA sucked in first half, came back towards end.
They dominated most of second half though.

Mexico should of been 3 up by half time from their chances.

SA took the chances as a blessing and capitalised.

Cant wait for Aus and Germany haha, we gonna get raped xD
Im predicting 2-1 though.


edit: @ above.

Originally Posted by Melb_aviator
Quote:
Originally Posted by jacoboy7
England 2018.

Qatar is gonna be crapping its pants, because now we are just concentrating on 2022...wouldnt you assume the qatar AFC guy, would try put down Australia so that his country will get it 2022...?

I sure hope they somehow pull out haha, otherwise I dont know if we will have much of a chance...he would have more relations with FIFA
xD


I wouldn't be so sure that Bin Hammam (AFC President) will have a huge amount of influence, as he will likely need to remain impatial in many ways because of the divisions it would cause for other Asian candidates, of which Australia is one of his supporters. He only marginally hung on to power at the last election, with the support of several East Asian nations, so taking that for granted and putting down an Australian bid would not go down well. Japan and Sth Korea were behind the move to unseat in at the last election, so I do not see much love going their way though. FIFA politics is an interesting beast though, but there are many levels of risk in this chess game if he choses to go all out in support of Qatar's bid.

On the topic of a bid, Qatar's nomination is flawed in many ways. It is clearly too small to bid alone, so based on technical requirements, I would suspect it will not be viewed as a serious competitor at the end of the day. It has cash to burn, which is likely the only thing it has going for it at the moment. If money talks, then Qatar and the USA are at the front. If the desire to grow the game and have hosts that can sustainably host the event, without rebuilding the whole country with excess capacity to do it, then the USA and Australia are leading.

Japan and Sth Korea had the event only 8 years ago, which would have been 20 years by the time of 2022. It was not a star performance hosting on that occassion and that was jointly run. Crowds were not huge and it only made a small dent commercially in expectations, so not sure they will be seriously considered this time.

A joint bid with the UAE I would see as a serious competitor to any bid on the table. An Arab WC would be great though, so maybe if national pride is taken out of it, they would consider a Joint bid for future WC's.

edit again:
Being here in South Africa and witnessing the scale of this event, its really just way beyond Qatar
Yeh, so from those quotes, basically im saying, I doubt Qatar have the infrastructure and population to hold a world cup.

^^ :ohno: Enough of the bloody moaning. You are NOT here, so you cannot comment on the vibe created in the stadiums, on the trains, on the fan walk etc. Trust me, in person in the stadium, they're actually not annoying. They are more of an instrument to create spirit and actually create little annoyance. On the TV, the drone is constant, but in person, it's an unbeatable vibe.

The World Cup belongs to those who came to enjoy it, those who play in the stadiums and those who crowd our cities, first and foremost. The TV audience on the other side of the world comes second to that. This is our World Cup and our visitors' World Cup and the people of all nationalities that are here are completely absorbed by the vibe. This World Cup does not belong to England... sorry, but this is a global game.

Get used to it, the Vuvuzelas are here and in person, they're awesome. The spirit is unbeatable. And I wasn't a fan of them pre-World Cup.

I accept that it has become part of the South African footballing culture, and it may create a wonderful atmosphere in the ground, but this could be the first World Cup that a large proportion of TV viewers choose to watch the games with the TV muted. For many, the over-riding memory will be "2010 - The Silent World Cup"

Amazing how many Europeans are blowing these horns in the stadiums......not just us Africans. On a personal note, I feel the English and Americans should not have been allowed to participate in this world cup due to the danger they bring as a result of their foreign policy and the risks it poses to all us Africans and other foreign visitors, i.e. Taliban attacks.....:guns1::guns1::guns1: :)

First day was very dissapointing... but that was the teams fault...
Today will bring more sensation
Argentina... England...
I'm siked!

^^ You guys have to understand... we have been under constant criticism from you guys (especially your media) for a half a decade now (99% of which is being proven completely unfounded)... now that everything is going perfectly here, we're frankly, just tired of all the whining and want to get on with the games.

Just curious that the majority of the recent criticism from persons and media (the continues now around a freekin' horn) has not been from South America, Australia, NZ, Asia, continental Europe (for the most part) or the USA, but its been the Brits moaning and groaning.

But, that's a gripe I suppose the French have too. There is something within the psyche of some of the less-traveled Brits that feel everything should be "the same as at home." Unfortunately, the world is diverse, things don't work that way, cultures and customs are different and if you don't embrace, you will simply be looked upon as intolerant. I'm not asking anyone to love the customs, but I'm asking for tolerance, acceptance and the end to the whining... just accept the World Cup is SA's this cycle and enjoy the matches however you feel you can.

Just because people chose not to come for whatever reason, does not mean we will temper our spirit on the ground for those viewers. It's about your teams and your fans that are here. Your national teams' can't feel "the spirit" through the TV cameras. So whatever anyone may say, the World Cup and the thing that will carry teams through is the support, the vibe and the enthusiasm they feel here.

Amazing how many Europeans are blowing these horns in the stadiums......not just us Africans. On a personal note, I feel the English and Americans should not have been allowed to participate in this world cup due to the danger they bring as a result of their foreign policy and the risks it poses to all us Africans and other foreign visitors, i.e. Taliban attacks.....:guns1::guns1::guns1: :)

I think the Italians should be banned to for their invasion of Ethiopia. The French should go to due to their colonial activities in North Africa. Of course Portugal should go for similar reasons, (might as well add Brazil as they speak portuguese). Spain had the Madrid train bombings, so best not to take chances with them...ban them. Germany can pack their bags, as they are no doubt only in South Africa on a recon exercise for the future.

Who is left? No one, oh well. The 2010 World Cup winners are South Africa :banana:

^^ You guys have to understand... we have been under constant criticism from you guys (especially your media) for a half a decade now (99% of which is being proven completely unfounded)... now that everything is going perfectly here, we're frankly, just tired of all the whining and want to get on with the games.

Just a curious that the majority of the recent criticism from persons and media (the continues now around a freekin' horn) has not been from South America, Australia, NZ, Asia, continental Europe (for the most part) or the USA, but its been the Brits moaning and groaning.

Just because people chose not to come for whatever reason, does not mean we will temper our spirit on the ground for those viewers. It's about your teams and your fans that are here. Your national teams' can't feel "the spirit" through the TV cameras. So whatever anyone may say, the World Cup and the thing that will carry teams through is the support, the vibe and the enthusiasm they feel here.

If South Africa is percieved to have a negative image in the UK, then other countries must feel totally loathed. I have found the public perception of post apartheid South Africa to be very positive.

Just because I do not like the droning white noise of the plastic horn, does not mean I view South Africa in a negative light.

This World Cup does not belong to England... sorry, but this is a global game.

Tbf we invented the sport you now play... :cheers: I don't know of many fans around the world who like them, except a few from other parts of Africa who might be slightly more used to it. You're right, this is a global game and that's why you should consider other fans opinions. I'm sick of hearing this 'us against the world' attitude we seem to get when anyone makes a criticism.

If you think it's just English fans who don't like this you've obviously ignored the last 5 pages of this thread. OK, they may be great in the stadiums but how can we judge that when we're not there; we can only say what we see, or in this case hear? The truth is they're pissing off a lot of people watching on TV. And furthermore, you're being a little naive. I don't suppose you'd mind one jot if I said the overhead stadium shots looked fantastic on TV? You would, I take it, say that doesn't matter. Take the criticism with the praise. You can't have it all one way.

Most of what I've seen and heard has been brilliant and I think this is going to be a great world cup, for TV viewers and visitors. But most people watching on TV are complaining about the vuvuzelas. Just accept that.

Exactly. No-one is dissing SA culture or their right to host the WC, just that the incessant noise is incredibly irritating to everyone else watching.

I accept that it has become part of the South African footballing culture, and it may create a wonderful atmosphere in the ground, but this could be the first World Cup that a large proportion of TV viewers choose to watch the games with the TV muted. For many, the over-riding memory will be "2010 - The Silent World Cup"

And that's just to stop having to hear Clive Tyldesley and David Pleat! :lol:

^^ You guys have to understand... we have been under constant criticism from you guys (especially your media) for a half a decade now (99% of which is being proven completely unfounded)... now that everything is going perfectly here, we're frankly, just tired of all the whining and want to get on with the games.

Just curious that the majority of the recent criticism from persons and media (the continues now around a freekin' horn) has not been from South America, Australia, NZ, Asia, continental Europe (for the most part) or the USA, but its been the Brits moaning and groaning.

But, that's a gripe I suppose the French have too. There is something within the psyche of some of the less-traveled Brits that feel everything should be "the same as at home." Unfortunately, the world is diverse, things don't work that way, cultures and customs are different and if you don't embrace, you will simply be looked upon as intolerant. I'm not asking anyone to love the customs, but I'm asking for tolerance, acceptance and the end to the whining..

It's not just Brits and you know it. Read the thread again, and the one in the Skybar if you don't believe me. Nearly everyone watching on TV hates the noise. I love the colour, the stadiums, the dancing in the stands, the different culture, most of the vibe, the interviews I've seen with locals on TV who are proud of the world cup in their country. I love that this IS different to football in England. But I hate the vuvuzela. If you want to interpret that criticism as intolerance that's your problem.

As I said, take the criticisms with the praise please. If you can't, perhaps your culture isn't as confident in itself as I thought it was. It'd be sad if that were the case.

Now, back to the football please. I'll be cheering on South Korea, Nigeria and of course England! Hopefully three good matches today. :D

don't get me wrong.. South Africa did a great job.. I just meant I was dissapointed in the matches.. which has nothing to do with the organization.
The stadiums looks wonderful, everything seems to go quite organized and there hangs a nice atmosphere, I'm really happy with the organization!

Nigeria; PLEASE beat the Argies!!! :D

and then COME ON ENGLAND!!! :D

(and yes I have started drinking already...)

And that's just to stop having to hear Clive Tyldesley and David Pleat! :lol:

:lol:

So true, now I am not sure which white noise is worse...Pleat or Vuvuzelas

:lol:

So true, now I am not sure which white noise is worse...Pleat or Vuvuzelas

Awww, stop hating on Pleat; is he even there anyway? 100x better than Lawro! I love the fact he can't pronounce anyone's names and starts every commentary with "Good evening everyone". Legend. :lol:

Awww, stop hating on Pleat; is he even there anyway? 100x better than Lawro! I love the fact he can't pronounce anyone's names and starts every commentary with "Good evening everyone". Legend. :lol:

Sorry for taking this off topic, but I was late home from work last night and was listening to the France/ Uraguay game on 5 Live. They took the term "inane" to a new level. At one stage they spent 5 minutes talking about the steward that asked them to put a cap on their water bottle. Now add this to listening to Vuvuzelas with no pictures to distract, then the radio experience is not for the faint hearted. :lol:

Live from Port Elizabeth;

3ZNAkGkRLP4

btw, the first goal of the WC 2006 (NO Vuvuzela sound):

GxoLjBfpa3s

Just curious that the majority of the recent criticism from persons and media (the continues now around a freekin' horn) has not been from South America, Australia, NZ, Asia, continental Europe (for the most part) or the USA, but its been the Brits moaning and groaning.

Not true. For example, here in Sweden there's been an outrage already over the vuvuzela. It's been the top news in the sport pages, over the actual matches. The polls conducted by the major newspapers showed that 80% of the viewers thinks that the vuvuzelas are ruining the viewing experience of the world cup.

People just plain hate it.

Just 31k in attendance for the game at Port Elizabeth today. I know the prospect of Greece and South Korea hardly gets the mouth watering but c'mon, 16k below capacity for a WC match?

I think the Italians should be banned to for their invasion of Ethiopia. The French should go to due to their colonial activities in North Africa. Of course Portugal should go for similar reasons, (might as well add Brazil as they speak portuguese). Spain had the Madrid train bombings, so best not to take chances with them...ban them. Germany can pack their bags, as they are no doubt only in South Africa on a recon exercise for the future.

Who is left? No one, oh well. The 2010 World Cup winners are South Africa :banana:

May as well ban South Africa for obvious reasons, there you go! No world cup.

Just 31k in attendance for the game at Port Elizabeth today. I know the prospect of Greece and South Korea hardly gets the mouth watering but c'mon, 16k below capacity for a WC match?

Apparently this was the hardest match to sell tickets for, so we won't see worse.

Decent match. Greece won't be getting out of this group, but South Korea look like a team who could do alright. I'm looking forward to seeing how Nigeria do, as I think it'll be between them and the Koreans in this group, assuming Argentina finish top.

Hopefully you're right, it looked awful. Saying that, it was nice to be able to hear both sets of fans chanting - albeit very vaguely.

@Qatar 2022 World Cup

So where are Qatar in this world cup? Hardly credible if they want the World Cup.

Well sorry, we have been put in the group of death and grouped with Australia twice. :nuts:

And you don't need to qualify to the world cup to host it.

the whole vuvuzela thing wouldn't be as big a deal if the media didn't hype it up so much. most people i know who dislike them, don't care anymore after one game. there was one guy (yes ONE) with a cymbal in ellis park today and you could hear him on the tv broadcast (amongst the vuvuzelas). i don't have a problem with it, just saying, there are plenty of things that fans do, that we could complain about.

I think the Italians should be banned to for their invasion of Ethiopia. The French should go to due to their colonial activities in North Africa. Of course Portugal should go for similar reasons, (might as well add Brazil as they speak portuguese). Spain had the Madrid train bombings, so best not to take chances with them...ban them. Germany can pack their bags, as they are no doubt only in South Africa on a recon exercise for the future.

Who is left? No one, oh well. The 2010 World Cup winners are South Africa :banana:

You forgot Mexico.- My county shouldn't been allowed to participate do to the narc war going on here.- !!!It put's all Southafricans ata great security risk!!!
Man, even Switzerland brings great risk!!!., they do not have an active army and that policy could "spread" over other counties, putting their internal security at risk.

the whole vuvuzela thing wouldn't be as big a deal if the media didn't hype it up so much. most people i know who dislike them, don't care anymore after one game. there was one guy (yes ONE) with a cymbal in ellis park today and you could hear him on the tv broadcast (amongst the vuvuzelas). i don't have a problem with it, just saying, there are plenty of things that fans do, that we could complain about.

Really? Hype? Just a few minutes ago was the first time I heard it mentioned. I was annoyed 5 minutes into the first game yesterday

Next time I see a vuvuzela ima break it...

Just 31k in attendance for the game at Port Elizabeth today. I know the prospect of Greece and South Korea hardly gets the mouth watering but c'mon, 16k below capacity for a WC match?

Have you been to Port Elizabeth? Most South Africans dont even bother going...

Next time I see a vuvuzela ima break it...

Go for it!!
USA - Eng broadcast just started...my iPod also started playing...

Durban for the SA-Mexico game...from the beach fan fest - 25000 people, and 1000s more in the other viewing areas along the beaches.

Showing maybe a quarter of the crowd there.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KzMvlbM7m-w/TBK7DjWv9HI/AAAAAAAAED4/qJL3ro1jREA/s1600/Africa+celebrates+the+continent%27s+first+ever+World+Cup+with+a+burst+of+joy+and+colour...+and+lots+of+noise+13.jpg

More Durban fans...

YES, There are 1000s of australians in Durban!! Greeting the arrival of their team at MM stadium for a practice session!!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4693826148_1497faf76e_b.jpg
by & YasSseR &

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4692493780_a71c066e07.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4691870101_8baf857a9a.jpg
by piotrek plecke

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/4691097825_9a26ae9deb.jpg
by Nirun Dowlath

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4690842399_d43a6e08ed_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4062/4691478820_c4fa12a753_b.jpg
by TheCraw

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1286/4691916666_611e158574_b.jpg

From www.examiner.com

At the Durban Fan Fest for the opening game! What people, what warmth!

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/Fan_Park_12.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/Fan_Park_3.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/Fan_Park_5.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/Fan_Park_6.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/Fan_Park_8.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/Fan_Park_9.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/Fan_Park_10.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/Fan_Park_11.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/Fan_Park_14_Aussies.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/Fan_Park_15_kids.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/Fan_Park_15.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/Fan_Park_19.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/Fan_Park_face_paint.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/IMGP4380.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/IMGP4387.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID25057/slideshows/Fan_Park_14_Aussies.jpg
Australia has vuvuzela :ohno:

Stadiums are great but world cup is ruined with vuvuzela.

Not true. For example, here in Sweden there's been an outrage already over the vuvuzela. It's been the top news in the sport pages, over the actual matches. The polls conducted by the major newspapers showed that 80% of the viewers thinks that the vuvuzelas are ruining the viewing experience of the world cup.

People just plain hate it.

from Mexico.
Vuvuzelas must me banned, maybe if they had some chant or a cool way of use them, but no they just keep making noise without any reason.

Other than that the stadiums look great, seems to be a good vibe in the streets, and no major problems so far.

vuvuzelas kind of remind you that crowd is always there. cause without them sometimes crowd goes silent. If u really listen in to vuvuzelas theyre annoying as hell

England and USA fans both managed to penetrate the hornet's nest tonight. A good rendition of God Save the Queen at one point and you could hear "ooh ess ay ooh ess ay" a few times :D

Where here in the forum picked up more pictures of the world cup?

England and USA fans both managed to penetrate the hornet's nest tonight. A good rendition of God Save the Queen at one point and you could hear "ooh ess ay ooh ess ay" a few times :D

Exactly. I thought it was an awesome mix of vuvuzela, cheers, songs and drums.

My first mute football tournament.

The song of the night :)

hpiIWMWWVco

The song of the night :)

hpiIWMWWVco

:lol:

Very droll, well done.

:(

all of you are funny

vuvuzelas are somethnig that doesnt bother me at all, I can almost hear it, I dont know what's the problem

p.s. great USA match, disastrous England... Rooney who? Lampard who? Green rulz :nuts:

^^ Exactly, the complains against the vivezela's sound are doing more noise than itself. :lol:


When will be the 1st large score in this cup?

USA were utter shit and deserved nothing from that match. So sloppy all of the time. Flukey goal and spent most of the 2nd half wasting time.

England just couldn't get the 2nd goal and at about 80 minutes tiredness kicked in. Far from a vintage performance but out-classed their opponents at times.

Call it sour grapes I don't really care. Got the train home and everyone at the station was wearing England tops and looked so depressed. Goes to show how much this country cares. I bet in the US half the people didn't even realise it was on...

Even in the pub I could hear England fans which was good.

England and USA fans both managed to penetrate the hornet's nest tonight. A good rendition of God Save the Queen at one point and you could hear "ooh ess ay ooh ess ay" a few times :D

Yeah, both countries have the most fans, I was only annoyed by the horns during corner kicks and such. I started to hear the USA chant at the end, heard god save the queen a few times, and muted boom boom boom boomboomboomboom US! a few times. I did hear drums throughout but couldn't tell if they were brit or american.

I'm happy with the result, but we could have won it! US Soccer has come a long way.

USA were utter shit and deserved nothing from that match. So sloppy all of the time. Flukey goal and spent most of the 2nd half wasting time.

England just couldn't get the 2nd goal and at about 80 minutes tiredness kicked in. Far from a vintage performance but out-classed their opponents at times.

Call it sour grapes I don't really care. Got the train home and everyone at the station was wearing England tops and looked so depressed. Goes to show how much this country cares. I bet in the US half the people didn't even realise it was on...

Even in the pub I could hear England fans which was good.

They were shit? US dominated possession and scoring chances in the first half, and played for the draw in the second. And they got it, sounds about perfect to me. I sure would call it sour grapes, and add ignorance on top of it. Looks like you can't grasp the fact that we can play with anybody now.

USA were utter shit and deserved nothing from that match. So sloppy all of the time. Flukey goal and spent most of the 2nd half wasting time.

England just couldn't get the 2nd goal and at about 80 minutes tiredness kicked in. Far from a vintage performance but out-classed their opponents at times.

Call it sour grapes I don't really care. Got the train home and everyone at the station was wearing England tops and looked so depressed. Goes to show how much this country cares. I bet in the US half the people didn't even realise it was on...

Even in the pub I could hear England fans which was good.
:lol: c'mon man...yeah, it was a shit goal, but we also spotted you a gimme when Clark got caught ball-watching early on, then Jozy squandered an wide-open scoring opportunity after fileting your entire back line in the second half.

Anyway, we did well for it to even come to that. On paper, a squad that much better-funded and talented than ours should've run us off the pitch. Just four years ago, if these two sides met, that likely would've been the case.

And trust me, people were DEFINITELY tuned-in to the match over here. Sports bars and entertainment districts were jam-packed for this one. This was arguably one of the most important football matches in our nation's history. Even the reactionaries and detractors paid attention, in some capacity.

:stupid:

Everyone I know was watching, family, friends, everyone.

Don't be too hard on Green brits, that ball moved on it's final bounce. I was a keeper, I've seen it before. Either there was an uneven spot right there, or it's the ball. He was set, it was an easy save, it went right.

http://i49.tinypic.com/166el48.jpg

USA were utter shit and deserved nothing from that match. So sloppy all of the time. Flukey goal and spent most of the 2nd half wasting time.

England just couldn't get the 2nd goal and at about 80 minutes tiredness kicked in. Far from a vintage performance but out-classed their opponents at times.

Call it sour grapes I don't really care. Got the train home and everyone at the station was wearing England tops and looked so depressed. Goes to show how much this country cares. I bet in the US half the people didn't even realise it was on...
Even in the pub I could hear England fans which was good.

I can agree with that but c´mon...honestly? I don´t get why people always say England is favourite...their style is awful and great for teams like Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Germany to beat...And this is the last chance for this generation...And I guess (despite the fantastic under-21 euro-champs in Sweden) that England will have a problem renovating the team because...well they just don´t play in the best teams...EDITED Cause: false sentence :D

And what´s with this guys?

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Dear Leader saving for his nuclear program?

Chelsea does not buy an English player in 7 years

Are you seriously?. This cant be true

The US actually knew where to shoot for the goal? ;)

But, actually, yeah. Great result for us! Now the English media no longer has that privilege of being able to safely mock us for the way the sport is played. Yeah, we still have problems in the back and the offense was lacking apart from Altidore, Donovan and Dempsey. They have to stop this habit of crowding themselves when trying to bring the ball out of the backfield, which creates turnovers and dangerous chances for the opposition.

Other than that, I was on pins and needles and someone pinch me but I saw my team being able to compete with the elite. I hope we don't suffer a major letdown against Slovenia.

USA needs to miss less passes...they missed a lot.

Are you seriously?. This cant be true

I read in a portuguese paper that someone related to Chelsea criticized the club for not buying an english player in 6/7 years...but now I was here looking for news related to that and it came to my mind...how about Joe Cole and Wright-Phillips? They were bought in this time period right? If yes :bash: for that sentence posted by me above...I read that and I trusted the guy :ohno:

Edit: yes...that sentence is false...you can see it here http://www.footbo.com/Teams/Chelsea_17/Transfers Sorry Chelsea fans ;) But my opinion stands...England will have problems renovating their team.

Germany vs Australia tomorrow

It's going to be a draw 1-1
German will be butthurt
and
Australia will claim victory

And trust me, people were DEFINITELY tuned-in to the match over here. Sports bars and entertainment districts were jam-packed for this one. This was arguably one of the most important football matches in our nation's history. Even the reactionaries and detractors paid attention, in some capacity.

Good to hear. :)

I was pretty pissed off last night admittedly and perhaps I was a bit harsh on US as they did stand firm in defence, but you have to say they produced very little. Altidore's shot was good and Green could only spoon it onto the post. That was about it. I was surprised how sloppy they were - giving the ball away even more than we normally do!

Dodgy bounce or not, if Green had got his body behind the ball it was an easy save.

That said, I stand by us deserving to win - it doesn't matter how much possession you have, it's what you do with it. Our final ball wasn't good enough - why was Wright-Philips on instead of Cole? Is Cole injured? That and Heskey missed a sitter as usual.

Anyway, hopefully the Germans can be humiliated today...

Have you been to Port Elizabeth? Most South Africans dont even bother going...

A good host nation should be interested in every single match of the WC!:ohno:

Like 2006 the match Ukraine vs. Tunesia 72,000 (sold out) in Berlin!

again a game in nearly a half-full stadium. Thats dishonorable for a world cup :ohno:

^^ That's becuase it was in Berlin. Unfortunately, people in PE are very passive and apathetic to happenings around, in other words way too chilled :P And some people from PE that I know personally decided to buy tickets for Cape Town rather lol. However I know a few people who have bought tickets in PE in the last few days, especially people from PE and Eastern Cape who couldn't be bothered till now and Capetonians who couldn't get tickets at home so they decided to travel to PE to watch a game.

If you look at the FIFA website you can see quite a few categories that are sold out which is quite a difference from a few weeks ago.

But then again, the empty seats are more because of the lack of interest of foreigners than the locals. Sure there was a recession but you can't expect the host nation to buy all the tickets. South Africans have already bought a clear majority of the tickets. For example, the Algeria v Slovenia is mostly packed by South Africans than Algerians and Slovenians. That is just wrong.

Bad games, poor attendance, vuvuzelas...things are not looking good. :mad:

Slovenia have a population of just over 2 million and their national stadium seats 12,000. You can hardly blame them for only bring a few thousand.

Bad games, poor attendance, vuvuzelas...things are not looking good. :mad:

You can see blocks of space in CAT1 seats and CAT 4, yet the FIFA ticketing site said everything was sold out. FIFA has cocked up ticketing and everyone knows it. Also would you spend money to go watch this game? :P

I'm going to be at Germany vs Australia tonight :D

EDIT: Now suddenly there are more CAT2 and CAT3 tickets for the Durban game tonight.

Slovenia have a population of just over 2 million and their national stadium seats 12,000. You can hardly blame them for only bring a few thousand.

And the population of the city they're playing in has a population of 550,000 yet they still managed to come in bigger numbers even if they're considerably poorer than Slovenian and Algerian fans. The problem is that there was too much negativism before the tournament because it was held in an African country and people didn't know what to expect. The tickets aren't affordable and you can't expect an average South African to whip out so much money for a match in which her or she has no interest in.

The problem lays solely on Fifa and Match for screwing up the ticketing and not communicating enough about the tournament. It was a hassle to ever get in contact with one or the other. :bash:

Difference is they don't have to get on a plane and book hotels! Easier said than done before you even think of the cost. Algeria should be ashamed I agree but if the city it's in only has 550,000 people then I would have thought they'd feel privileged to get games!

It could be argued that if South African fans aren't interested in these games then they shouldn't have got the WC in the first place.

I thought the negativity was from everywhere other than SA but then I wouldn't know...

A good host nation should be interested in every single match of the WC!:ohno:

Like 2006 the match Ukraine vs. Tunesia 72,000 (sold out) in Berlin!

Clearly intelligence escapes some. Apart from the fact that Port Elizabeth is a far smaller city than Berlin, Germany is surrounded by a pretty hefty number of first world countries a short distance away. It's pure logic that games in Germany will sell better as people do not have to fly half way across the world to attend them. Many more people are living within close proximity to Germany than there are people to South Africa. Is that so hard to comprehend?

98% of the tickets are sold. Demand for games in major cities far outstripped supply. Seriously, it's nowhere near doom and gloom :nuts:

South Africa ponders vuvuzela ban.

Thank god.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8737455.stm

Difference is they don't have to get on a plane and book hotels! Easier said than done before you even think of the cost. Algeria should be ashamed I agree but if the city it's in only has 550,000 people then I would have thought they'd feel privileged to get games!

It could be argued that if South African fans aren't interested in these games then they shouldn't have got the WC in the first place.

I thought the negativity was from everywhere other than SA but then I wouldn't know...

I doubt people from Slovenia (which is a developed country) and Algeria don't have money to come to SA. I know people from Romania who are coming and they're not even in the World Cup.

South Africans have loads of interest in the games. That's why the four main cities are pretty much sold out. But than in a city like Polokwane, an average person will have money for a limited number of tickets like 1 or 2 and these will be of a lower category. If you look at these cities, the lower categories are sold out and the problem mainly lies with category 1 and 2. Now a local might buy one cat 1 or cat 2 ticket for one game and if there are four games, he or she will make sure he spends so much money on a match which would be the most interesting to see. So in Polokwane, a local would rather spend money on France v Mexico or Argentina v Greece (both are sold out) than on Algeria v Slovenia or Paraguay v New Zealand.

Therefore it comes back to the interest from foreign fans rather than the locals.

South Africa ponders vuvuzela ban.

Thank god.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8737455.stm

please do it:applause:

Clearly intelligence escapes some. Apart from the fact that Port Elizabeth is a far smaller city than Berlin,

If Port Elizabeth is so "passive" about the World Cup, why was a stadium built there


Germany is surrounded by a pretty hefty number of first world countries a short distance away. It's pure logic that games in Germany will sell better as people do not have to fly half way across the world to attend them. Many more people are living within close proximity to Germany than there are people to South Africa. Is that so hard to comprehend?


And that makes me think that this World Cup will boost Englands 2018 cause. Time for a "safe" World Cup methinks.

If Port Elizabeth is so "passive" about the World Cup, why was a stadium built there

Port Elizabeth got too many matches.

Want to know why? The head of the local organising committee comes from there.

And that makes me think that this World Cup will boost Englands 2018 cause. Time for a "safe" World Cup methinks.

Why so? There's been no major problems in South Africa's hosting of the event. If the biggest outcry is over vuvuzelas then clearly we did our job well :lol: And FIFA's profit compared to 2006 is a significantly higher amount too. The few tickets that have gone unsold are hardly about to drive FIFA running to a "safe" country. I don't see what's about to suddenly give England a huge advantage for 2018.

^^ Danny Jordaan :bash:. They should give PE's R16 game to Durban and the 3rd/4th place game to Cape Town. They would be sold out in two days.

Why so? There's been no major problems in South Africa's hosting of the event. If the biggest outcry is over vuvuzelas then clearly we did our job well :lol: And FIFA's profit compared to 2006 is a significantly higher amount too. The few tickets that have gone unsold are hardly about to drive FIFA running to a "safe" country. I don't see what's about to suddenly give England a huge advantage for 2018.

Apparently their profits went up by 50% compared to 2006 and even with missing seats our average attendance is still higher than in 2006. So I don't see FIFA "running for a safer couuntry" either.

I still think they should have had more games in Cape Town and Durban and left out some of the smaller cities. Clearly the demand is there in the major cities. If PE were closer to Cape Town I'd go to the crappiest of matches just for the sake of it!

I still think they should have had more games in Cape Town and Durban and left out some of the smaller cities. Clearly the demand is there in the major cities. If PE were closer to Cape Town I'd go to the crappiest of matches just for the sake of it!

I got four tickets for Cape Town and I'm still going to PE for a game. I know many other people who are doing so as well. World Cup fever + roadtrip = AYOBA :banana:

And FIFA's profit compared to 2006 is a significantly higher amount too. .

FIFA's profit has nothing to do with the quality of a World Cup!
For e.g. FIFA had NO problems with empty seats in 2006, the stadiums were packed at every single match!

14/06/2006 Tunesia-Saudi Arabia 66,000 in Munich

http://www.fussballdaten.de/wm/2006/endrunde/vorrunde/gruppeh/tunesien-ukraine/

If Port Elizabeth is so "passive" about the World Cup, why was a stadium built there



And that makes me think that this World Cup will boost Englands 2018 cause. Time for a "safe" World Cup methinks.

With the UKs foreign policy, how do you ensure people's safety in London. Answer: you can't. I would be very scared to attend the Olympics in 2012 as the UK is a majopr terror target and its about time the international community starts to re-think whether it is safe to attend.

With the UKs foreign policy, how do you ensure people's safety in London. Answer: you can't. I would be very scared to attend the Olympics in 2012 as the UK is a majopr terror target and its about time the international community starts to re-think whether it is safe to attend.

You can't be certain of 100% safety anywhere but you're being overly worried.

You can't be certain of 100% safety anywhere but you're being overly worried.

Well, I could say the same for fans who decicded not to visit SA for the world cup based on similar comments...reality is, the UK is a terror target whether you like it or not.

Germany vs Australia tomorrow

It's going to be a draw 1-1
German will be butthurt
and
Australia will claim victory

Umm, I think Australia is gonna get buttraped :) Sorry

Umm, I think Australia is gonna get buttraped :) Sorry

:) think u right there :lol:

Well, I could say the same for fans who decicded not to visit SA for the world cup based on similar comments

Oh ok, you were making a point. Fair enough. :)

With the UKs foreign policy, how do you ensure people's safety in London. Answer: you can't.
:lol:

I understand where you're coming from, though.

Can't wait for the German/Oz match later!

FIFA's profit has nothing to do with the quality of a World Cup!
For e.g. FIFA had NO problems with empty seats in 2006, the stadiums were packed at every single match!

14/06/2006 Tunesia-Saudi Arabia 66,000 in Munich

http://www.fussballdaten.de/wm/2006/endrunde/vorrunde/gruppeh/tunesien-ukraine/

So two or three obscure matches with a few empty seats are catastrophic for the quality of the World Cup? :lol: Oh please! So the stadiums, organisation, atmosphere at the actual games and fan parks, hotels, transport, entertainment and local welcome have nothing to do with the quality of the world cup? All things we were supposed to fail at dismally according to the foreign media? :lol:

Pathetic. Do you believe your own nonsense?

So two or three obscure matches with a few empty seats are catastrophic for the quality of the World Cup? :lol: Oh please! So the stadiums, organisation, atmosphere at the actual games and fan parks, hotels, transport, entertainment and local welcome have nothing to do with the quality of the world cup? All things we were supposed to fail at dismally according to the foreign media? :lol:

Pathetic. Do you believe your own nonsense?

You guys from SA can keep telling yourself that your worldcup is great. That's ok :) but unfortunately many people in other countrys think that it sucks so far.

I'm watching Ghana vs. Serbia right now and again...the stands behind the goals are nearly empty. Atmosphere....well ssssssssssssrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Even the players are complaining that it is impossible to communicate on the pitch. Maybe this is one reasen why the games where so bad till now.

del

So two or three obscure matches with a few empty seats are catastrophic for the quality of the World Cup?

Obscure matches are part of a World Cup, as I remember, this is the first WC with empty seats since 1990 (Italy).

May be there is a good atmosphere outside the stadiums - like it was here in Germany 4 years ago.
The main aspects here in the media are empty seats in the stadiums and - the horrible VU-VU-ZE-LAS! (Damn, somone is blowing a Vuvuzela just outside my window:bash:)


Do you believe your own nonsense?


:banana::bowtie:

You guys from SA can keep telling yourself that your worldcup is great. That's ok :) but unfortunately many people in other countrys think that it sucks so far.

I'm watching Ghana vs. Serbia right now and again...the stands behind the goals are nearly empty. Atmosphere....well ssssssssssssrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Even the players are complaining that it is impossible to communicate on the pitch. Maybe this is one reasen why the games where so bad till now.

:lol:

Strange I haven't seen any complaints minus the vuvuzelas. I've been watching BBC and Sky quite often and they're heaping on the praise. Australian, New Zealand, British and South American forumers are talking about how "South Africa-crazy" it is in their countries at the moment over in our section of the forum. It's true, though, out of the billions of viewers and hundreds of thousands of tourists, it's always the vocal minority who will make their voices heard the most :hilarious

Regardless, enjoy your little complaining fit :lol: We're having a blast!

CURRENT PITCH RANKING SOUTH AFRICA 2010

1-POLOKWANE
9/10
2-ELLIS PARK
8/10
3-RUSTENBURG
7/10
4-PRETORIA
7/10
5-SOCCER CITY
6/10
6-CAPE TOWN
6/10
7-PORT ELIZABETH
3/10

DURBAN, BLOMFONTEIN, NESUPRIT NOT YET USED

The fact that everyone is discussing the vuvuzela and some other stuff here and not the football says enough about the quality on show!!

There's some great atmosphere in South Africa but football wise it has been very dissappointing.

Ya Lydon, all the foreign news stations over here have been praising the world cup until now. But there will always be some formers who will judge everything from what they see on their telly whilst making baseless assumptions on their fat couches. Guys you have to be here to feel it! It's amazing! There might be a empty seats, but the atmosphere is electric! This is truly an amazing world cup :) Don't judge the world cup from what you see at the games on your telly. Its 110% better, trust me :) People did the same in 2006 and it was not so...

You guys from SA can keep telling yourself that your worldcup is great. That's ok :) but unfortunately many people in other countrys think that it sucks so far.

I'm watching Ghana vs. Serbia right now and again...the stands behind the goals are nearly empty. Atmosphere....well ssssssssssssrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Even the players are complaining that it is impossible to communicate on the pitch. Maybe this is one reasen why the games where so bad till now.

FIFA messed up hospitality tickets hence the unused seats.

Algeria vs. Slovenia would never be a full match. PE's match was not exactly a top match either.

You guys from SA can keep telling yourself that your worldcup is great. That's ok :) but unfortunately many people in other countrys think that it sucks so far.



Having actually been at matches, tourists are loving it. Its not perfect, we never promised 100% packed group matches given the economics of our country.

FIFA messed up hospitality tickets hence the unused seats.

Algeria vs. Slovenia would never be a full match. PE's match was not exactly a top match either.

I hope there won't be any empty seats in durban later

You guys from SA can keep telling yourself that your worldcup is great. That's ok :) but unfortunately many people in other countrys think that it sucks so far.

Most people I've spoken to think it's great, vuvuzelas :doh: aside.

The quality of the football hasn't been brilliant so far, but that's beyond the host's control.

I hope there won't be any empty seats in durban later

In major cities demand far exceeded supply, so I highly doubt there will be empty seats unless FIFA have made a cock up again.

RobH, you said it perfectly :)

Ya I also heard that the empty seats was because of FIFA screwing up the hospitality tickets. Glad to hear it's so. One bad taste that the world cup is gonna leave with me is the ticketing system. FIFA and Match have to rethink it.

^^ :lol: Jealousy is making people very nasty. Poor sods, watching on their TVs while we get to be in the stadiums, on the fan walks and in cities bursting with football spirit.

RobH, you said it perfectly :)

Ya I also heard that the empty seats was because of FIFA screwing up the hospitality tickets. Glad to hear it's so. One bad taste that the world cup is gonna leave with me is the ticketing system. FIFA and Match have to rethink it.

FIFA has already declared they will monopolize the sale of tickets in 2014, as a reaction to 2010's problems. To do so, they have already increased their organizational budget.

^^ :lol: Jealousy is making people very nasty. Poor sods, watching on their TVs while we get to be in the stadiums, on the fan walks and in cities bursting with football spirit.

Nope not jealous at all. I'll wait 8 years thanks. :)

With the UKs foreign policy, how do you ensure people's safety in London. Answer: you can't. I would be very scared to attend the Olympics in 2012 as the UK is a majopr terror target and its about time the international community starts to re-think whether it is safe to attend.

I am sure people will feel a lot safer in London than Jo'burg

Nope not jealous at all. I'll wait 8 years thanks. :)
Wasn't talking to you. Was referring to the guy from the previous host nation. But, it is a pity, because there will NEVER be the same feeling again as this World Cup created. Every host nation brings a uniqueness to the tournament and the one in 4 years and the one in 8 years will not be the same.

Yes because they will be worse in some ways and better in others. Besides, each World Cup is far more special for the team who hosts it.

Are you seriously?. This cant be true
It isn't, we bought Daniel Sturridge last year.

France-Uruguay opener in Cape Town

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc40/andresannman/WC1.jpg

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http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc40/andresannman/WC27.jpg

Best thing about France Uruguay were the stunning overheads of that gorgeous Cape Town stadium, the match wasn't up to snuff.

Watching Germany v Australia now from Durban. It looks fantastic.

ghana 1-0 serbia :cheers:
good job ghana

This is too easy for Germany

yeah, Australia looks terrible, Germans look scary good. Shredding the defense.

This is too easy for Germany

because Germany is so scary good ;) this is the best team Germany had in the last decades. Many young talented players like Müller, Khedira and Badstuber.
Great game so far. =)

If you hate them so much (I think it creates a nice background hum) you can attempt to tune them out with your TV's EQ.

http://twitpic.com/1vwlun

duplicate

I am sure people will feel a lot safer in London than Jo'burg

Not so sure about that.....think I will take SA rather than the UK in 2012....the UK afterall have had more incidents of bomb blasts that what SA has had....Manchester and London know alot about this. If I was a tourist in 20102 to the UK I would def not use the undergound or bus system....dangerous mate. :nuts:

GERMANY!!! :banana::banana:

Not so sure about that.....think I will take SA rather than the UK in 2012....the UK afterall have had more incidents of bomb blasts that what SA has had....Manchester and London know alot about this. If I was a tourist in 20102 to the UK I would def not use the undergound or bus system....dangerous mate. :nuts:

Don't talk rubbish, you're much, much more likely to be killed in a car accident than a terrorist attack in the UK; and I don't suppose that'll chage come 2012.

GERMANY!!! :banana::banana:

Looking good, but the Ozzies are poor.

Don't talk rubbish, you're much, much more likely to be killed in a car accident than a terrorist attack in the UK; and I don't suppose that'll chage come 2012.

What the hell does a car crash have to do with a terrorist attack.....my point is that this is more likely to happen in the UK than in a country like SA....fact, and its happened already, again fact....and by the way, people die in car accdients all over Europe.

SLOVENIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAA

What the hell does a car crash have to do with a terrorist attack.....my point is that this is more likely to happen in the UK than in a country like SA....fact, and its happened already, again fact....and by the way, people die in car accdients all over Europe.

Yes, but it's a very unlikely occurance to happen to one individual. I take it you're also very scared of getting into a car or crossing the road, or going to work, given that statistically you're more likely to be killed doing any of those things than you are if you get on a Tube Train?

Sorry, I've just realised you were making a point again. Must have overlooked the smiley in post #2687. BTW, sarcasm doesn't come across very well on the internet, smileys or no smileys.

Apparently their profits went up by 50% compared to 2006 and even with missing seats our average attendance is still higher than in 2006. So I don't see FIFA "running for a safer couuntry" either.

Fifa's profits will go up 50 % in Brazil 2014 compared to 2010!
The average attendance in SA will be probably higher than in 2006, because you have more seats to sell.
We could have built huge stadiums in Germany for the 2006 WC, but there was no need for them after the WC!
The 2006 Stadiums are sold out nearly every weekend for the Bundesliga games (except Leipzig and Berlin:nuts:), do you think this will happen to the WC 2010 stadiums??

UPDATE
CURRENT PITCH RANKING SOUTH AFRICA 2010

1-POLOKWANE
9/10
2-ELLIS PARK
8/10
3-RUSTENBURG
7/10
4-PRETORIA
7/10
5-SOCCER CITY
6/10
6-CAPE TOWN
6/10
7-DURBAN
4/10
8-PORT ELIZABETH
3/10

BLOMFONTEIN, NESUPRIT NOT YET USED

Originally Posted by crazyalex
Germany vs Australia tomorrow

It's going to be a draw 1-1
German will be butthurt
and
Australia will claim victory

:banana::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::cheers:

Fifa's profits will go up 50 % in Brazil 2014 compared to 2010!
The average attendance in SA will be probably higher than in 2006, because you have more seats to sell.
We could have built huge stadiums in Germany for the 2006 WC, but there was no need for them after the WC!
The 2006 Stadiums are sold out nearly every weekend for the Bundesliga games (except Leipzig and Berlin:nuts:), do you think this will happen to the WC 2010 stadiums??

Bwahaha, now you're telling us how to spend our own tax money? :nuts: Thanks, but we'll keep our sexy stadiums :hilarious

Bwahaha, now you're telling us how to spend our own tax money? :nuts: Thanks, but we'll keep our sexy stadiums :hilarious

This was just a question and ^^ this was not the expected answer!!!

This was just a question and ^^ this was not the expected answer!!!

We knew very well that the stadiums would have to be viable post-World Cup before we built them.

The smaller cities may struggle a bit, but the large bulk of stadia spend was on Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, who should have absolutely no problem ensuring their stadias are successful post-World Cup. Cape Town will have the toughest time of the lot as it hasn't secured a team to use it as their primary venue, but we do have Stade de France managing it who wouldn't have bid if they didn't think it would be viable, and who have a number of events planned for the future.

Not so sure about that.....think I will take SA rather than the UK in 2012....the UK afterall have had more incidents of bomb blasts that what SA has had....Manchester and London know alot about this. If I was a tourist in 20102 to the UK I would def not use the undergound or bus system....dangerous mate. :nuts:

If you was a tourist in that year, then you have perfected time travel or found the key to eternal life. Either way, I doubt you should be worried as you will not be killed :)

What about Johannesburg? Isn't the huge Soccer City and Ellis Park too much capacity for the city?

What about Johannesburg? Isn't the huge Soccer City and Ellis Park too much capacity for the city?

Ellis Park nope and Soccer City maybe

SLOVENIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAA

GO NEW ZEALAND

But I know NZ will lose. soccer aren't popular in NZ :(

What about Johannesburg? Isn't the huge Soccer City and Ellis Park too much capacity for the city?

Ellis Park was built ages ago and all these years it's been just fine. You're forgetting that rugby is huge in South Africa.

Soccer City may not fill up on a regular occasion, but it'll have a team using it as their main venue, it'll host various football matches, concerts and other events. It, too, should be just fine. Do also remember that Soccer City isn't brand new. It's a complete overhaul of a previous stadium that was on the site.

What the hell does a car crash have to do with a terrorist attack.....my point is that this is more likely to happen in the UK than in a country like SA....fact, and its happened already, again fact....and by the way, people die in car accdients all over Europe.

Tell me about your gun crime rates... ;)

PS: Why would you not use the tube? :lol: :nuts: A bomb went off in a building once - do you not use them either?

SLOVENIA!!!

I have to support the under-dogs here, gooooooooo [NEW ZEALAND], even if you don't win you have already won our hearts - qualifying for the world cup was a HUGE achievement :cheers:

http://www.rnzi.com/graphics/large%20kiwi.gif

350 000 people in Cape Town Central City for start of Football World Cup

The City of Cape Town estimates that an astounding 350 000 people visited the Cape Town Central City area on Friday 11 June to watch the World Cup Opening Ceremony and Bafana Bafana-Mexico game on TV and to attend the opening match at the CT Stadium, with 250 000 in the CBD and 100 000 at the V&A Waterfront.

The fact that so many people could visit the city centre and party peacefully without any serious incidents is tribute to years of planning and preparation by a range of public and private roleplayers.

City’s report back following first World Cup match at Cape Town Stadium

“The first 2010 FIFA World Cup™ match at the Cape Town Stadium took place yesterday, 11 June 2010. No major incidents were reported and fans came out in true South African and Cape Town style and had a good jol.

All of the City’s key fan venues proved immensely successful, with celebrations continuing late into Friday night. There were no major incidents reported at any City venues, despite the fact that approximately 350 000 people visited the city centre.

http://www.andrewboraine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/MG_7590.jpg

This event was the largest yet at the Cape Town Stadium, with 64 100 people in attendance. Regardless of the number of fans in the stadium, noise levels as measured in decibels remain the same.

http://www.andrewboraine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_0683.JPG

The near-full capacity at the stadium provided the City with an ideal opportunity to test its public transport infrastructure for a large event. The City would like to thank residents for heeding the City’s advice to use public transport to travel to the city centre. Approximately 20 000 fans came into the city via rail and the bus-based Park-and-Ride service was very well utilised.

Over 11 000 spectators used the MyCiTi shuttle to get to the stadium, while the City’s fan walk also proved popular with 20 000 eager fans walking to the stadium on this route. Other ticket holders walked to the stadium from the V & A Waterfront or other areas in the city.

http://www.andrewboraine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_0632.JPG

The City’s Transport Information Centre, which is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week, took 12 000 calls on 11 June. The call-centre’s number is 0800 65 64 63.

The City’s new Transport Management Centre in Goodwood was well utilised and proved a very important tool for the City in managing multiple sites in Cape Town. There are still some improvements to be made to the City’s public transport system, but important lessons were learnt yesterday, and these will be kept in mind for Monday’s event.

The FIFA Fan Fest™ proved extremely popular, reaching capacity just over an hour after it opened. A total of 42 000 people visited the Fan Fest throughout the course of the day. The crowd was kept constant in the Fan Fest and more spectators were allowed access as others left. There were no major security incidents or serious injuries sustained.

http://www.andrewboraine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/MG_0163.jpg

In order to ensure safety as people emerged from pubs and restaurants after watching the opening match, Long Street was closed to vehicular traffic between Wale and Orange Street. Various other roads in the city centre were closed as and when they were needed to ensure smooth traffic flow and the safety of spectators.

The City’s four fan jols were well utilised, and all reached capacity by 16:00 on Friday. The City would like to encourage residents to utilise the fan jols near them, as the FIFA Fan Fest™ tends to fill up very quickly. Fan jols are open from 11:00 – 23:00 and entrance is free. They are open on Cape Town match days, all Bafana games, the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final game days. There is also a wide variety of entertainment and food stalls, so spectators can experience the World Cup atmosphere without having to come into the city centre.

http://www.andrewboraine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/MG_0174.jpg

http://www.andrewboraine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/MG_0118-1.jpg

The V & A Waterfront also proved a popular venue, peaking at approximately 100 000 people. Another 250 000 people gathered in the city centre, at the fan walk, FIFA Fan Fest™, as well as areas around the Fan Fest, restaurants, and pubs.

http://www.andrewboraine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_0483.JPG

Source (http://www.andrewboraine.com/2010/06/350-000-people-in-cape-town-central-city-for-start-of-football-world-cup/)

SLOVENIA!!!

Slovenia has stolen Australia´s outfit!!! :lol:

Found my favourite stadium of the WC...Durban...absolutely good looking on tv :cheers:

You guys from SA can keep telling yourself that your worldcup is great. That's ok :) but unfortunately many people in other countrys think that it sucks so far.

I'm watching Ghana vs. Serbia right now and again...the stands behind the goals are nearly empty. Atmosphere....well ssssssssssssrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Even the players are complaining that it is impossible to communicate on the pitch. Maybe this is one reasen why the games where so bad till now.
I went to the game between Algeria and Slovenia yesterday and was sitting infront of the guys from Manchester in the UK who were blowing Vuvuzelas non-stop and these happens after a week of vuvuzela noise making in Sandton were I'm working. There only tourists that I never saw holding Vuvuzelas were from Argentina.

In regards to empty seats, FIFA should explain better as South Africans emraced the World Cup but as you might be knowing we are a third world and most people do not have access to the Internet likr you do and ticketing system has been very poor from FIFA's side. Go check bigSoccer.com and learn about those who have struggle to return tickets to FIFA for games that they could not attend. On the other side the world is currently in recession and the airlines have played devil's advocates in charging for airfares.

SLOVENIA!!!
Saw t-shirts written like that yesterday at the game, it was all joy after the game by Slovenians.

To those having a pop at South Africa for a few empty seats.........this isn't the first World Cup in which the less glamorous games have failed to sell out. In fact, pretty much every previous World Cup has suffered from a similar problem.

Same with the European Championships, for that matter. I can perfectly well remember plenty of the lesser games at Euro 96 in England being far from sold out.

People in glass houses....

Schoolboy error by the Germans.

Everyone knows that the best way to win a World Cup is to start the tournament indifferently.

If you're a betting man, lay Germany now.

Interesting that the NY Times chose this time to write an article on SA rugby: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/sports/rugby/14iht-ARENA.html

because Germany is so scary good ;) this is the best team Germany had in the last decades. Many young talented players like Müller, Khedira and Badstuber.
Great game so far. =)

you forgot to mention Ozil, he is the best player germany has right now. he created 2 goals for germany today and could have scored two if he wasnt so unlucky.

Looking good, but the Ozzies are poor.

ozzies may be poor, but the americans suck even more.
germany would trash england, just hope that england will not meet germany anytime soon.

LETS GO DEUTSCHLAND!!!!

ozzies may be poor, but the americans suck even more.
germany would trash england, just hope that england will not meet germany anytime soon.

LETS GO DEUTSCHLAND!!!!

Uhh, wha? We just smoked Australia the week before tying England. Australia is just that bad. Germany might be great, they might win the whole thing, but Australia is really really bad right now.

http://ndtv.footballindia.com/news/FIFA_probes_8000_no-shows_at_SKorea-Greece_game/news-2010-june-news_20100613_972/news_article.aspx?from=homePageTicker

FIFA probes 8,000 no-shows at SKorea-Greece gameJOHANNESBURG(AP) FIFA is investigating whether transportation and ticket distribution systems failed after at least 8,000 seat-holders didn't get to the World Cup match between South Korea and Greece in Port Elizabeth.

The problem appeared to occur for a second straight day Sunday when another match between two of the tournament's less glamorous teams, Algeria and Slovenia, kicked off in Polokwane at 1:30 p.m. local time with about one-third of the stands empty.

Only 31,513 people attended South Korea's 2-0 victory on Saturday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, which holds 42,486 spectators for World Cup games.

FIFA said just 3,000 tickets were available on the morning of the match.

``It looked like a lot of people did not show up at the stadium. We are investigating this,'' FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot said Sunday.

Before the tournament, FIFA aimed to ensure full stadiums by cutting the price on tickets for matches less attractive to fans in the worldwide sales. Host cities were offered group deals to allocate seats among local businesses and public service workers.

Maingot said FIFA helped pay for bus transportation to bring South African fans to the lower-demand games.

``We have been proactive on that, and we asked for a system to be put in place. Apparently, that has not completely worked,'' he said. ``We are working on this to make sure this is not the case for a potential few others of those games.''

FIFA said Sunday that 700 unsold tickets were available hours before Algeria and Slovenia played in the 41,733-capacity Peter Mokaba Stadium. Official attendance was 30,235.

Transportation has been a problem in the early days of a World Cup that is proving popular with host nation fans and visitors.

Organizing committee officials experienced what they called ``challenges'' getting 84,490 fans to a sold-out Soccer City in Johannesburg on Friday for the opening ceremony and South Africa's first match against Mexico.

World Cup and city officials were working Sunday to create a more efficient transit plan before the stadium hosts the well-supported Netherlands playing Denmark in Monday's early-afternoon kickoff.


HOW TRUE IS THIS?

Uhh, wha? We just smoked Australia the week before tying England. Australia is just that bad. Germany might be great, they might win the whole thing, but Australia is really really bad right now.

and americans arent any better(and btw, it was just a friendly). my argument was with the english guy on how much better germany is than england and not who is worse, usa or australia.
i was trying to say that england couldnt even get a win out of usa and the guy had the balls to take credit from germany when germany trashed their opponent

Apparently the screen didn't work at the stadium of the Greece game...

And I heard they are finally banning the vuvuzelas!!!

To those having a pop at South Africa for a few empty seats.........this isn't the first World Cup in which the less glamorous games have failed to sell out. In fact, pretty much every previous World Cup has suffered from a similar problem.

Same with the European Championships, for that matter. I can perfectly well remember plenty of the lesser games at Euro 96 in England being far from sold out.

People in glass houses....

With respect, you can not really compare Euro 96 to this World Cup. The Euro Championships do not have the prestige of the World Cup. The average attendance in 1996 was the highest for a 16 team Euros in it's history even though it was in the infancy of the "Sky Revolution". Many credit 1996 as one of the causes of the attendance boom in England.

I am not blaming South Africa for empty seats. Our South African friends have posted valid reasons for this.

today finaly holland-denmark, hope the stadium is full and without vuvuzela's...

and americans arent any better(and btw, it was just a friendly). my argument was with the english guy on how much better germany is than england and not who is worse, usa or australia.
i was trying to say that england couldnt even get a win out of usa and the guy had the balls to take credit from germany when germany trashed their opponent

What's wrong with these forums lately, is the world cup attracting idiots? All I said was Germany looked good but the Ozzies were poor (which is true) and I get a response like this! :nuts:

Mind you, I shouldn't be surprised as this is the same retard who claimed I was being anti-Muslim by criticising Qatar's bid. Listen, if you can't discuss things like an adult kosova-fener bugger off ok?

South African riot police in Durban have fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of security stewards protesting over alleged pay cuts.

The clash took place in a carpark at the city's Moses Mabhida stadium shortly after it hosted a match between Australia and Germany.

The stewards said they were being paid only 190 rand (£17; $25) a day, although they had been promised more.

Reports say one woman was injured and at least two people were arrested.

It was not immediately clear how much the stewards were supposed to have been paid according to their contracts.

So far there, have been no public comments on the incident from South Africa's World Cup organising committee or Fifa.

Link HERE (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/10306156.stm)

^^ FIFA :bash:

ozzies may be poor, but the americans suck even more.
germany would trash england, just hope that england will not meet germany anytime soon.

LETS GO DEUTSCHLAND!!!!

You're either very young and naive or very ignorant.

Anyone who has any experience with World Cups knows that you don't win it in the first few group games.

There have been many occasions in the past when one or two teams looked like world beaters in their group games but then lost tamely in the knock out stages. Equally, there have been many occasions in the past when teams have started very slowly, with indifferent form in their group games, but have grown stronger as the tournament progressed.

So no one with any sense will be rushing to judgement about how good Germany is or how bad England is on the basis of their first games in the World Cup.

and americans arent any better(and btw, it was just a friendly). my argument was with the english guy on how much better germany is than england and not who is worse, usa or australia.
i was trying to say that england couldnt even get a win out of usa and the guy had the balls to take credit from germany when germany trashed their opponent

Erm......now that is just wrong from start to finish!

1. The Americans clearly are better than Australia at the moment. They beat them convincingly only a few weeks ago. They also feature higher up the FIFA world rankings than Australia.

2. Your argument wasn't just about how much better Germany is than England at all. You clearly stated, "ozzies may be poor, but the americans suck even more".

3. RobH wasn't taking credit away from Germany. What part of "looking good" (RobH's verdict on the Germans) didn't you understand, exactly?

With respect, you can not really compare Euro 96 to this World Cup. The Euro Championships do not have the prestige of the World Cup. The average attendance in 1996 was the highest for a 16 team Euros in it's history even though it was in the infancy of the "Sky Revolution". Many credit 1996 as one of the causes of the attendance boom in England.

I am not blaming South Africa for empty seats. Our South African friends have posted valid reasons for this.

The Euro Championships might not quite have the prestige of the World Cup. But they're still very prestigious.

England is a highly densely populated country that is fanatical about football. Euro 96 was the biggest thing to happen, of a sporting nature, in the country for 30 years. The hype surrounding the tournament was incredible (just as it is now in South Africa).

Yet despite all this and despite the fact that most of the stadiums had a capacity of 40,000 or less back then, there were quite a few empty seats at quite a few of the games.

And the same can be said for pretty much every World Cup and pretty much every European Championship (or African Cup of Nations or Copa America).

So I just think that those having a pop at SA for the empty seats we've seen at this World Cup should back off. It's nothing new.

To those having a pop at South Africa for a few empty seats.........this isn't the first World Cup in which the less glamorous games have failed to sell out. In fact, pretty much every previous World Cup has suffered from a similar problem.

Same with the European Championships, for that matter. I can perfectly well remember plenty of the lesser games at Euro 96 in England being far from sold out.

People in glass houses....

You're right, England 1996 was embarrasing! Even the semi final in Manchester's Old Trafford wasn't full (36,000)!

As I remember, the last WC with empty seats was Italy 1990.

today finaly holland-denmark, hope the stadium is full and without vuvuzela's...

Yes, full: fans and Vuvuzelas:bash::bash::bash::bash:

As I remember, the last WC with empty seats was Italy 1990.

No, even the 2006 world cup had empty seats. The only world cup that was filled up to capacity was the USA '94 World Cup.

With respect, you can not really compare Euro 96 to this World Cup. The Euro Championships do not have the prestige of the World Cup. The average attendance in 1996 was the highest for a 16 team Euros in it's history even though it was in the infancy of the "Sky Revolution". Many credit 1996 as one of the causes of the attendance boom in England.



For me the EURO is almost important as the WC. It is more difficult to win the EC than the WC!
The EURO is a world cup without Argentina and Brazil:cheers:
(Remember, the semi final of the 2006 WC was a EC!)

btw., the EURO with the highest average attendance was Germany 1988 (60,000 / 8 Teams )

New vuvuzelas turn down volume
2010-06-14 13:04Email | Print

Johannesburg - Makers of the vuvuzelas that have become the talking point of the World Cup have come up with a toned-down version after a growing backlash against the din at matches.

"We have modified the mouthpiece, there is now a new vuvuzela which will blow noise that is 20 decibels less than the old one," Neil van Schalkwyk, a partner at Masincedane Sport, told The Star newspaper.

"We hope to sell these at park and ride areas and public viewing areas," added Van Schalkwyk, whose company owns the vuvuzela trademark.

A recent survey found that the sound emitted by a vuvuzela was the equivalent to 127 decibels - louder than a drum's 122 decibels, or a referee's whistle at 121.8 decibels.

Difficult to concentrate

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo was the latest World Cup star to voice unease about the trumpet, telling reporters that it affected players' focus.

"It is difficult for anyone on the pitch to concentrate," the Real Madrid star told a press conference.

"A lot of players don't like them, but they are going to have to get used to them."

The local organising committee however has called them the symbol of the tournament and says the horns are here to stay.

Vuvuzelas are modern spin-offs of traditional instruments made from spiralling kudu horns. Van Schalkwyk said he decided to develop a plastic version after spotting the original versions of the horn being blown at games.

The company says it has had sold 1.5 million vuvuzelas in Europe since October and expects the tournament will generate sales of up to R20m.

- http://www.sport24.co.za/Soccer/WorldCup/NationalNews/New-vuvuzelas-turn-down-volume-20100614

No, even the 2006 world cup had empty seats. The only world cup that was filled up to capacity was the USA '94 World Cup.

Which matches,please?
Even obscure games like Saudi Arabia vs. Tunesia or Ukraine vs. Tunesia were full, as I remember.

*Sigh* Pretty sure Aus gonna come in last in our group haha.

-_- all media is like we gonna try draw the Germans...nxt day everyones like no one wants to discuss the game hahaha.

Everyones all depressed.
Soccer affects more people here than you would expect. xD

edit:

PLUS now im bloody -11 points for my world cup fantasy team...FFFFUUUU CAHILL! xD

Yes, full: fans and Vuvuzelas:bash::bash::bash::bash:

Definitely not full. Disappointing for what I thought is the best match-up so far.

Which matches,please?
Even obscure games like Saudi Arabia vs. Tunesia or Ukraine vs. Tunesia were full, as I remember.

I clearly remember empty seats at some games during WC 2006.

I also remember empty seats at some games during WC 1994 in the US.

Which matches,please?
Even obscure games like Saudi Arabia vs. Tunesia or Ukraine vs. Tunesia were full, as I remember.

Serbia v Netherlands and Iran v Angola to think of a few...

Erm......now that is just wrong from start to finish!

1. The Americans clearly are better than Australia at the moment. They beat them convincingly only a few weeks ago. They also feature higher up the FIFA world rankings than Australia.

2. Your argument wasn't just about how much better Germany is than England at all. You clearly stated, "ozzies may be poor, but the americans suck even more".

3. RobH wasn't taking credit away from Germany. What part of "looking good" (RobH's verdict on the Germans) didn't you understand, exactly?

They boy is a albanian land-stealer. Don't expect much of him...

Definitely not full. Disappointing for what I thought is the best match-up so far.

oh come on. 83,000+ isnt bad at all. some seats are sealed off for security reasons. and the attendence at this world cup is way greater than germany. fact.

It's certainly not bad but it's not full. Fact.

What proportion of seating in each game went to fans of the teams and was this enough/too much.

The reason I'm being a pedant here is because I thought they (FIFA and SA) promised sell-outs and they aren't delivering them.

oh come on. 83,000+ isnt bad at all. some seats are sealed off for security reasons.

Oh ya definitely! The stadium may have a capacity of 95000 seats, but many of those seats are blocked off for the security reasons and for the media. In 2006 many stadiums that had a capacity for 47000 seats for example were considered full at 43000 exactly for those reasons.

You determine how full it was by seeing how many tickets FIFA made available for that game, how many bought those tickets and how many actually attended the game.

The reason I'm being a pedant here is because I thought they (FIFA and SA) promised sell-outs and they aren't delivering them.

It was never promised that it would be a sell-out. Maybe once a few years ago before the recession when there actually was a chance that many foreigners would come. But not in the current global conditions. I don't know where you heard this from....

Although it may seem all the foreigners are complaining about the vuvuzelas; you'd be surprised to see the amount of people especially foreigners, blowing vuvuzelas, or trying to do so here; even in the streets.

It is important to remember that this is an African World Cup, on African soil. The vuvuzela is part of African football culture, as singing is in Europe, and it is only fitting that it does not get banned for the duration of the tournament. Spectators have been asked not to blow during the singing of the national anthems, and have respected this.

We have delivered. Allow us to enjoy this time, and celebrate it in our own language. Instead of bi*ching, celebrate with us.

Although it may seem all the foreigners are complaining about the vuvuzelas; you'd be surprised to see the amount of people especially foreigners, blowing vuvuzelas, or trying to do so here; even in the streets.

It is important to remember that this is an African World Cup, on African soil. The vuvuzela is part of African football culture, as singing is in Europe, and it is only fitting that it does not get banned for the duration of the tournament. Spectators have been asked not to blow during the singing of the national anthems, and have respected this.

We have delivered. Allow us to enjoy this time, and celebrate it in our own language. Instead of bi*ching, celebrate with us.

That's fair enough.

It would be quite wrong to ban the vuvuzela. And I can well understand that those fans who have travelled to SA have entered into the spirit of the occasion (either that or they've given up trying to make their voices heard and are now operating on the basis of if you can't beat them, join them!).

But as RobH said so well earlier in the thread, just as you have a right to blow your vuvuzelas, those in far flung countries who have to watch events on TV have the right to express their opinion of the vuvuzela - even if it isn't complimentary.

FIFA is a fuck up, they hold up tickets until a few hours before the game starts and now stadiums like Free State have got plenty of empty seats. I think they are the people who need to be investigated. It started with systems being down and those who have logged on not being able to buy tickets and now seats are empty.

I hope Brazillians have taken note of the problems caused by FIFA in South African and start adressing them now.

borriiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnngggggggggggg games,. fsck camerron

It was never promised that it would be a sell-out. Maybe once a few years ago before the recession when there actually was a chance that many foreigners would come. But not in the current global conditions. I don't know where you heard this from....

Read it on the BBC Sport website a few months ago after concerns were being raised regarding the number of tickets that had been sold. IIRC, FIFA assured that at least 90-95% of ALL tickets would be sold.

borriiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnngggggggggggg games,. fsck camerron

I blame Clegg personally