During the 2010 World Cup, South African fans gifted the world the vuvuzela. The din created by the two-feet long instrument remained part of World Cup culture even in Brazil four years later.
When the U-17 World Cup kicks off in the Capital on Friday, with the match between Ghana and Colombia, one can expect to hear the same noise -according to Ghana media manager Tammu Issah, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) is all set to bring a large contingent of fans to India in a bid to support their side.
While the supporters will belong to different fan groups and come from different part of the country, one thing will be common: the vuvuzela. "Our fans always travel with the side whenever we are playing any FIFA or CONCACAF tournaments across all age-groups. This time, too, it won't be any different. Among the various fan-based groups which is recognised by Ghana Football Association (GFA), Ghana National Supporter Union and Nationwide Supporter Union are the two largest groups.
Several members of these groups have already applied for visas. So we expect that a sizeable number of fans will travel to the country. Africa gifted the world vuvuzelas. So yes, our fans are going to travel with the vuvuzelas," Issah, who is expected to reach the country on the eve of Ghana's first match against Colombia on Friday, told TOI from Accra on Tuesday.
Ghana, who won the U-17 World Cup in 1991 and 1995, will be playing in the tournament after 10 years and are placed with Colombia, the US and hosts India in the tournament. Issah informed that the Ghana embassy in India has also rallied several fans within India to visit the Capital during the side's matches.
While GFA is leaving no stones unturned in their preparations, the Ghana under-17 team, coached by Paa Kwasi Fabin, started their preparations for the World Cup at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium practice grounds, here on Tuesday , a day after landing in the Capital. The two-time champions focused on wing-play and long balls in their two-hour long practice sessions.
"We are giving last-minute touches to our preparations. Before coming to India, we had trained in Dubai to get acclimatized to the weather," Issah said.
Source: Timesofindia