FIFA Boss: 2010 World Cup Survived Vuvuzelas

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has rejected criticism of the 2010 World Cup. Photo by EPA/BGNES

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has defended the achievements of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, calling the tournament “special”.

"Every World Cup has its own history and its own culture. It was a World Cup in a new continent with new culture and therefore it must be analysed on different levels. If you look at the enthusiasm in South Africa and the TV audiences around the world then it was a special World Cup,“ Blatter told 5 live's Sportsweek in a interview ahead of Sunday night's final between the Netherlands and Spain.

The FIFA head rejected criticism about the quality of the football and the empty seats saying these could not be blamed on the organizers.

"We have had empty seats yes, but not empty stadia. Don't forget, 95% of all tickets have been sold. There were two cities where we had in two matches not the expected attendances but otherwise if you have seen in some stadia empty seats it came from hospitality. There has not been the same enthusiasm for hospitality seats as we have seen in other World Cups," he explained.

Blatter was positive that the 2010 World Cup in South Africa had been totally clean from match-fixing:

"There was not one single alarm on match fixing. Not one single alarm in the early warning system also controlled through Interpol."

He praised the tournament for its effects on the South African economy and infrastructure. In his words, the failure of more African teams to go past the group stage had to do with recent coach changes.

"We have survived finally the vuvuzelas, everybody has. It is not only the South African way, all the visitors have started to buy the vuvuzelas and on Sunday in the final there will not be even 50% South African people in the stadium but everybody will have these vuvuzelas,“ Blatter declared making a special mention of the blaring horns.

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