South African soccer fans not a fan of Shakira’s anthem

If you’re hosting an event as big as the World Cup, it makes sense that you’d want everything to be perfect, including the tournament’s anthem. However, after South African soccer fans heard their official anthem—Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” they were displeased, to say the least.

Several locals in Johannesburg, South Africa even described the song as “horrible” and demanded that the South African president do something about it.

Besides disliking the song itself, many are upset that a local South African isn’t singing the anthem for South Africa’s World Cup. They feel that the Colombian pop star isn’t the right person to represent their first World Cup. Furthermore, they weren’t too happy with the lineup for the tournament’s kickoff concert, wondering why there aren’t more local acts. The June 10 kickoff concert will feature several foreign acts, including John Legend, Alicia Keys, and the Black Eyed Peas.

Colombian singer Shakira worked with the South African band Freshlyground in creating “Waka Waka,” taking inspiration from Cameroonian music. She is scheduled to perform the tournament’s anthem with Freshlyground at the final match on July 11, 2010, in front of 94,000 people.

The song has a nice beat to it and it’s definitely catchy, although it’s understandable that the South Africans would want one of their local singers to perform their World Cup anthem. Check it out for yourself: