Call Nigeria Mobile for only 7.9c per minute!

FIFA released new rankings yesterday and that brings good news to Nigerians.  For August 2011 Nigeria is ranked number 38 in the men’s division, bringing them up 5 points.  That puts them at number 4 among other African counties, below Ghana and above Burkina Faso.

Nigeria has made 4 FIFA World Cup™ appearances, 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2010.  They are hoping to make this their first consecutive appearance this year.

The Nigerian woman’s division is currently number 1 in their country and ranked number 27 in the world.  They are also fighting to make this year their first consecutive appearance at the FIFA world cup.

Nigeria only houses 52 official clubs, but has over 6 million players.  That puts Nigeria among the top countries in the world for football players.

Congratulations to both teams! StanaCard would love to help celebrate so we have dropped our rates to Nigeria mobile phones to 7.9 cents per minute.  So take advantage and call your friends and family to talk about your favorite Premier League or how well the national team is doing.

Planning on taking a trip to the next FIFA games?  Well take StanaCard with you and never worry about roaming charges, by using our international forwarding services.

Controversy Arises as People Discuss Qatar’s World Cup Bid

Listen, I’m all for the underdog.  The little guy.  The small country that is smaller than Connecticut.  Sure, it’s great that Qatar got the bid.  But in the wake of the excitement, there are a few things to really consider:

•          For more than half the year, Qatar is an oven.  Not an Easy-Bake Oven, either.  An oven just below the sun that doesn’t need to be powered by gas because the sun is sitting right above it and heating it up.  That kind of oven.  The average daily high during the summer is 115°F.  And absolutely no rain.  I’m thirsty just thinking about it.  Not to mention global warming.  I’m sure by 2022, the average temperature will be more like 125°F.
•        As part of the bid, the Qatar delegation promised to construct nine new stadiums and renovate three others.  This will cost approximately $4 billion, but does not include the $50 billion in infrastructure costs the country will undertake in order to handle the crowds that the World Cup will bring – an approximated doubling of their population.  
•         The stadiums they are building are going to be air-conditioned open-air buildings.  NOT DOMES?  Really?  REALLY?  How is that going to be at all economical?  AND: forget about the final trophy, the real prize will be avoiding skin cancer.  Qatar officials say their system of roof-top solar thermal panels will get the temperature down to 80°F on the field.  Maybe I’m spoiled, but that’s still pretty warm.

I don’t know. I'm torn.  It’s great that the Middle East is going to get a bunch of new tourism, but why wouldn’t Dubai have gone for it?  Qatar is still developing.  Sure, this will give them incentive to develop faster, but at what cost?  Well, $50 billion, I guess!  What do you think?  Should one of the other bidding countries (USA, Australia, South Korea) have gotten the bid, or was this a good choice?

-@StanaCardSara

FIFA Announces World Cup Hosts

FIFA announced today that the 2018 and 2022 World Cups would be held in Russia and Qatar, respectively.  Russia beat out England and collaborative hosting bids from Spain-Portugal and Holland-Belguim in today’s vote at the FIFA headquarters in Switzerland.

Qatar won the rights to host the 2022 tourney against the bids of the USA, South Korea, Japan, and Australia.

Being the biggest sports tournament in the world, the World Cup brings in millions of people and dollars worth of tourism.  The FIFA World Cup has never been in Eastern Europe or the Middle East before, so these tournaments will be turning points in soccer history.

The big question is: what will the new vuvuzela be?  My vote is for the cowbell or the melodica.  That's only because the digurido is too big.