Freddie Marquet

Back in 2004, nobody really talked about Vuvuzelas.

Even people in the soccer world didn't know what they were.

But six years later, by the time the first game of the tournament was underway, the Vuvuzela was the hottest word in sports.

But the hum of 80,000 VivaZellas drowned out that type of crowd noise.

The sound caused actual headaches for television broadcasters.

French network TF1 opted to change their commentator's microphones for a kind that would eject more background noise.

Other networks chose to use special audio filters to try and eliminate the VivaZella from their sound mix altogether.

It also sparked a debate about the history of the Vuvuzela and its true origins.

For critics, the Vuvuzela was a relatively new mass-produced noisemaker, but for supporters, they tended to think of the Vuvuzela as an instrument, a loud, attention-grabbing sound that grew out of South Africa's rich footballing tradition.

Originally, the sport was introduced by British colonizers, seeking to impose their beliefs and values on the locals.

But quickly, South Africans embraced football and made it their own.

The game was both affordable and accessible, becoming the sport of the black working class.

So as a way to help organise themselves, football teams formed supporters clubs.

These were small but mighty organisations made up of fans from each city or town.

Supporters clubs would hold fundraisers and hammer out travel logistics to away matches, and black supporters clubs in particular played a special role, giving black South Africans who had no say in their government a voice to shape their community through the local team.

During this time, political opponents of the apartheid regime were banned from gathering.

It was one of the many ways the government tried to suppress the liberation movement.

But football games and the noise and crowd that came with them made it harder to prevent black politicians from sitting together.

So myself, I'm a owner, I'm a founder, I'm a pioneer of the Vuvuzela.

It was started by me.