JOHANNESBURG — FIFA has a message for all those vuvuzela haters: Buzz off.
Despite criticism from World Cup TV viewers around the globe that the swarm-of-bees sound from the plastic horns is stinging their ears, the organization left no doubt Monday that the uniquely African soundtrack is here to stay.
“I have always said that Africa has a different rhythm, a different sound,” said Sepp Blatter, president of soccer’s governing body. “I don’t see banning the music traditions of fans in their own country. . . . Would you want to see a ban on the fan traditions in your country?”
FIFA and Blatter have strongly backed the use of vuvuzelas since they were introduced to the wider football world at the Confederations Cup test event in South Africa a year ago. With a much broader audience for the World Cup, the vuvuzelas have drawn strong reaction from Boston to Bhutan.
“What is the buzzing noise at soccer games?” was one of the week’s top-searched questions online, according to Yahoo.
Organizing committee spokesman Rich Mkhondo said visitors were snapping up vuvuzelas and “stuffing them into their suitcase” for the trip home.
England defender Jamie Carragher is one of them.
“My kids have been on the phone,” he said, “and they want two.”
