Been watching the 2009 Confederations Cup? Noticed anything?
If you're an astute observer, you've probably noticed the abundance of empty seat at the stadiums in South Africa.
Apparently, so have FIFA. And they're not too happy about this.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said that unsold tickets for Confederations Cup matches should be given away rather than have empty seats at games after disappointing opening day crowds.
Blatter told a news briefing before the start of the competition's third match between Brazil and Egypt that he had held a meeting with organizers on Monday morning after neither of Sunday's games attracted capacity crowds.
"I had a meeting with the organizing committee this morning, and I think they should have done a little bit more to bring more people to the stadium. They could have given the empty seats at Ellis Park to the boys and girls who had taken part in the opening ceremony. They could have watched the match. There must be some action taken for the rest of the competition. To have half-empty stadiums is not FIFA. They have to do something about it.
"We know that the prices of the tickets cannot be too high, but bring the young people or the poor people into the stadium, and nobody will be offended by that."
The attendance at the match between five-times world champions Brazil and African champions Egypt, which Blatter attended was also disappointingly low with the 40,000-capacity Free State Stadium only about half full when the match kicked off.
Blatter added: "We were not happy with the crowd at the opening match (South Africa v Iraq) or on Sunday evening when the European champions Spain were playing New Zealand in Rustenburg. It is up to the organizers, the local media, to get the message across."
Organizers of this event and next year's World Cup finals have called for a better response from the South African public for the games.
"You can take a horse to water but you can't force it to drink," organizing committee spokesman Rich Mkhondo told a news briefing earlier in the day in Johannesburg.
"We have emphasized many times this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Our job is to stage the event but it is up to the South African nation to attend it."
Despite the Confederations Cup being the first major footballing event of its kind on the African continent, South Africa played against Iraq to a crowd of under 50,000 in a 61,000-capacity stadium at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
Attendance at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg for the match between European champions Spain and New Zealand was 21,649, just over half its 42,000 capacity.
The cheapest ticket prices are 70 rand ($8.69) more than three times the price of ticket for South African league matches.
MY POV: This has to be equally embarrassing for both South Africa and FIFA.
But honestly, who really cares about this cup? It's a glorified exhibition dressed up and sold as important. Everyone knows the World Cup next summer is the main event. Many South Africans are probably saving their pennies for that event.
Why bother with this one?
Sure, there's good football to be seen. But what does winning the Confederations Cup really mean when the World Cup is next summer?
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