Boycott the World Cup!

By: Rob Sedgwick
Date: 14/06/2010 (Last updated: 23/06/2010)

SADLY the World Cup has been totally ruined for me by the Vuvuzela instrument which drowns out every game. As a result I have decided to boycott the World Cup on TV until a ban (with the exception of South African games) on these instruments is imposed.

This is not a decision I have taken lightly. I am an England supporter, a member of Englandfans, and went to nearly every England qualification game at Wembley which got the national team to the tournament in the first place. I went to Portugal in Euro 2004 to watch England, and I have joined Englandfans again for the Euro 2012 qualification campaign.

I was looking forward as always to this World Cup, and was expecting it to be the greatest show on Earth. Sadly it has been totally ruined by the excessive use of the Vuvuzela instruments by the crowd.

I respect the right of South Africans to blow Vuvuzelas at their own games. This, for whatever reason, is their culture. I find it incomprehensible, but they are entitled to their traditions. They should not however have the right to impose their culture on other footballing nations.

For me a huge part of the game is the atmosphere and what happens in the stands. This part of the game has been totally annulled by the overuse of the plastic horns by large sections of the crowds.

If football was just about 22 players on the pitch and the ball I wouldn't watch it. The Vuvuzela has effectively reduced the game to its bare bones. The rest of the game has disappeared - the roar of the crowd, the chanting, basically the buzz I have always get from the game has gone. It is not football as I know and understand it.

This is not something I am doing privately - on the contrary I want to make all parties know why I am boycotting the World Cup, and urge others to do likewise. I have written to the BBC, ITV and Fifa, as well as signed numerous petitions and joined facebook groups to urge a ban to be imposed on the Vuvuzela.

Stopping watching the games on TV is by far the most powerful weapon we all have. The TV companies depend on advertisers who in turn depend upon us the fans watching their product. If we are not happy with their product then we should boycott the very thing which matters most to the tournament organisers.

If a ban is not imposed then I will be spending Friday night watching Rugby League or tennis instead of watching the England team I love taking a step towards winning a trophy I have dreamt of them lifting since I was 10 years old.

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