Rustenburg, South Africa - The President of football's controlling body Joseph Blatter said on Wednesday that his organization was just as concerned about filling seats at the Confederations Cup as they were about selling tickets.

Although ticket sales for the competition were good and is lying just two per cent below what it was at the Confederations Cup in Germany in 2005, none of the five matches so far have been sold out and in some cases the stadium have been half-empty.

"There are too many no shows. I do not know why, but the only thing one can say is that it is not only important to sell tickets but also to make sure seats are occupied."

He said that he had visited the King of the Bafokeng tribe, in whose area the Group A match between South Africa and New Zealand is being played on Wednesday night.

"The King bought ten thousand tickets, which have been given away, so hopefully, the number of fans in the stadium will increase."

Blatter said that FIFA had so far been very happy with the tournament. "We are very happy with what we have seen. The quality of matches and pitches and the ambience in the stadiums has all been very good. For the time being we are in a very positive mood."

He said he was aware that the noise made by the plastic trumpets (vuvuzelas) were making television coverage in Europe difficult as the noise was coming through.

"I am not quite sure how we can stop that. It is a local sound and I am not sure how we can stop a local sound, but we are aware of the issue and we will discuss it.

"I always said that going to Africa will be noisy as it is noisy there. In Africa you have drums, rhythm and dancing. That is what makes the continent."

He said that an African country could win the World Cup as soon as there was more parity on the number of finalists. "If you take Europe and South America, they can have
18 teams at the finals, yet Africa has just a handful."

Blatter announced that they would consider doing something to honour the memory of Cameroon international Marc-Vivien Foe, who died during a Confederations Cup match in 2003.

He has already left a legacy because the medical attention given has improved tremendously since his tragic death. FIFA also has a foundation through which his family is looked after."

The Chief Executive Officer of the South African local organizing committee (LOC) said that they had decided to give away tickets to boost attendance.

"This will be done on a case by case basis."

He said that they were not surprised that even the hosts' first two matches had not been sold out. "The fact is that Bafana Bafana has not played in front of a 100 per cent capacity for five years."(dpa)