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Country Code: +234
International Call Prefix: 009
Trunk Prefix: 0

The area codes in Nigeria vary between 1 (Lagos, Ibadan and Abuja) and 3 (for GSM networks) digits long. The non-GSM mobiles are given area codes of the geographical location where they are registered.

Calling formats[link]

• xxx xxxx - Calls within an area code
• 01 xxx xxxx - Calls from outside Lagos
• +234 1 xxx xxxx - Calls from outside Nigeria

Cross-area code roaming[link]

With the advent of Unified Licensing by the Nigeria Communication Commission, the private telephone operators (Non GSM Telcos) are starting to introduce cross-area code roaming.

.

List of area codes in Nigeria[link]

External links[link]

• National Numbering Plan of Nigeria Nigerian Communications Commission document
• MOBILE NATIONAL NUMBERING PLAN, Page 84 Nigerian Communications Commission document

References[link]

• ITU allocations list

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Yahaya Musa (born December 20, 1986 in Canberra, Australia) is an Australian-American soccer player currently playing for Wilmington Hammerheads in USL Professional Division.

Career[link]

Musa played college soccer at Stony Brook University. He was captain of Stony Brook in 2006 and 2007 and was a member of the 2005 America East Championship team. In addition, he was 1st team All America East in 2007 and 2006, 2nd team All America East in 2005, and America East Rookie team in 2004.^[1]

As well as appearing in the USL Premier Development League for Fort Wayne Fever,^[2] Long Island Rough Riders^[3] and Kalamazoo Outrage,^[4] Musa also spent two seasons in Puerto Rico with Academia Quintana, Sevilla FC Puerto Rico and Bayamón FC.^[5][6]

Musa signed with USL Professional Division club Wilmington Hammerheads in March, 2012. He made his debut with the club on April 29, 2012 as a 65th minute substitute in a 1-0 victory over Pittsburgh Riverhounds.^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

• SBUS profile

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Please expand this article. Some suggested sources are given hereafter. More information might be found in a section of the talk page. (June 2011)

Sepp Blatter
Sepp Blatter in 2009
8th President of FIFA
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 June 1998
Preceded by	João Havelange
Personal details
Born	Joseph S. Blatter (1936-03-10) 10 March 1936 (age 76) Visp, Valais, Switzerland
Nationality	Swiss
Spouse(s)	Graziella Bianca (m. 2002–2004)
Children	Corinne Blatter[citation needed]
Residence	Zurich, Switzerland
Alma mater	University of Lausanne

Joseph S. Blatter^[1] (born 10 March 1936), commonly known as Sepp ("Giuseppe") Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association). He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007 and 2011.

Despite winning four terms as President, Blatter has often been dogged by controversy and allegations of corruption. His tenure has seen controversy over allegations of financial mismanagement and the acceptance of bribes resulting in Qatar's successful 2022 World Cup bid. Blatter personally has attracted criticism from the media, senior football figures and players^[2] due to several controversial statements. These include suggesting that female football players should wear tighter shorts to appear more attractive to men, that Latin American countries would 'applaud' John Terry for having an extramarital affair, that homosexuals should 'refrain from any sexual activity' while attending the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and that on-field racism could be corrected with a 'handshake'.^[3] Blatter also received criticism for not postponing his 2011 election in which his term as FIFA President was extended through 2015, despite the fact that all other candidates for the role had been suspended or withdrew. Prior to his election as FIFA President, Blatter was a senior FIFA official for 23 years. In his earlier professional life, Blatter held a variety of senior management positions in several Swiss organizations.

Early life and career[link]

Blatter was born in Visp, Canton Valais, Switzerland. He studied in Sion, Switzerland, before he received a degree in business and economics from the University of Lausanne in 1959.

Blatter has had a long and varied career, including posts such as Head of Public Relations of the Valaisan Tourist Board in his native Switzerland, as well as General Secretary of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. He was Director of Sports Timing and Relations of Longines S.A., and was involved in the organization of the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games. ^[4][5][6]

FIFA[link]

Since 1975, Blatter has been working at FIFA, first as Technical Director (1975–1981), then General Secretary (1981–1998), before his election as FIFA President in 1998. He was re-elected as head of FIFA in 2002, and was re-elected unopposed for another four years on 31 May 2007, even though only 66 of 207 FIFA members nominated him.^[7]

1998 election[link]

Sepp Blatter's 1998 election to the presidency of FIFA over UEFA President Lennart Johansson occurred amidst much controversy.^[8][9] Blatter's 2002 candidacy has been marked with rumours of financial irregularities and backroom dealings,^[10] culminating with direct accusations of bribery, by a third party, made in the British press by Farra Ado, vice-president of the Confederation of African Football and president of the Somali Football Federation, who claimed to have been offered $100,000 to vote for Blatter in 1998.^[11]

Allegations of financial mismanagement[link]

Amidst internal divisions, FIFA's secretary-general Blatter's deputy and former protégé Michel Zen-Ruffinen drew up a 30-page dossier outlining allegations of financial mismanagement within the organisation.^[12][13] The dossier alleged that the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner ISL had led to losses of up to $100m under Blatter's management. The allegations were backed by Johansson,^[14] and the dossier was handed to the Swiss authorities, but they cleared Blatter of any wrong doing and FIFA had to pay all the costs.^[15] An internal investigation within FIFA was halted by Blatter because members of it broke confidentiality agreements.^[16] This questionable behaviour led him to remove Zen-Ruffinen from office immediately before the FIFA World Cup 2002.

In April 2012 the Council of Europe published a report which stated it would be “difficult to imagine” that Blatter would have been unaware of “significant sums” paid to unnamed FIFA officials by ISSM/ISL in connection with lucrative contracts for World Cup television rights and the subsequent bankruptcy and collapse of ISL in 2001.^[17] The Council of Europe report will be considered by over 300 parliamentarians from the 47 Council of Europe member states in Strasbourg.^[18]

Women's football[link]

Blatter incurred criticism from female footballers in 2004 when he suggested that women should "wear tighter shorts and low cut shirts... to create a more female aesthetic" and attract more male fans, remarks that were ridiculed in the press.^[19]

Criticises referee, skips ceremony[link]

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, after a controversial second-round match between Portugal and the Netherlands, which saw referee Valentin Ivanov issue a record 16 yellow cards and four red cards, Blatter was said to have lambasted the officiating referee, and said that Ivanov should have given himself a yellow card for his poor performance as a referee.^[20] However, he later regretted his words and promised to officially apologise to Ivanov.^[21] This apology was never given, and the referee was removed from further officiating.^[21] During the 2006 FIFA World Cup final in Germany, Blatter's absence during the prize-podium event was noted and criticized in international media. It was claimed that the reason Blatter did not attend was because he was upset that Italy won instead of France.^[22] Blatter later apologised and said the reason he had shunned the presentation ceremony was because he was afraid of being whistled.^[22]

Foreign 'over-representation' on club teams[link]

Blatter appeared to incur much criticism during 2007 and 2008 for his apparent persistence in attempting to change European Union employment law regarding the number of foreign players football clubs can field at any one time. His plans are to set a restriction to five foreign players and having six players from the said team's own nationality. Blatter believes this would help the countries' national sides by having more national players playing in their leagues. Blatter has often referred to the English Premier League as one of the major problems in football and uses it as an example, due to the influence of foreign players, coaches and owners in the top teams.^{[23][24][25][26][27]}

Dismisses technological assistance[link]

The criticism attracted by Blatter's refusal to allow goal-line technology or video replays intensified following the controversial Lampard disallowed goal in the match between England and Germany on 27 June 2010.^[28] Two days later, Blatter stated that he deplored the "evident referee mistakes" in the England v Germany and Mexico v Argentina matches, and apologised to the English Football Association and the Mexican Football Federation (the two organizations directly concerned by the referees' mistakes), acknowledging that Lampard had indeed scored against Germany and that Tévez's goal against Mexico had been scored from an offside position. He added: "It is obvious that after the experiences so far at this World Cup it would be a nonsense not to re-open the file on goal-line technology. [...] We will come out with a new model in November on how to improve high level referees. [...] I cannot disclose more of what we are doing but something has to be changed."^[29][30]

World Cup's chosen sites[link]

Blatter with Barack Obama and Jack Warner. In the vote for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, U.S President Barack Obama said that FIFA made "the wrong decision" in awarding Qatar the tournament in 2022.^[31]

It was reported that Blatter had "cut an unofficial deal with UEFA head Michel Platini" to ensure Europe would receive the 2018 World Cup, such that if the non-European bids did not withdraw from 2018 "they will find themselves frozen out and not given any backing by the FIFA High Command, damaging their chances of being serious contenders for the second tournament."^[32]

Eleven bids were submitted in March 2009 covering 13 nations. Mexico and Indonesia withdrew. Five of the remaining nine bids -- South Korea, Qatar, Japan, Australia and the United States -- were only for the 2022 World Cup, while all the others were bidding for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.^[33] However, since all of the bids for the 2018 World Cup were from European nations, and FIFA's rules dictate that countries belonging to confederations that hosted either of the two preceding tournaments are not eligible to host,^[34] the bids of England, Russia, Netherlands/Belgium and Spain/Portugal were forced to be for 2018 only.

Controversy came in the British press when Russia was awarded the 2018 event, with England receiving just two of their 'promised' votes; this controversy was dismissed by Blatter as the English showing themselves to be "bad losers".^[35] The awarding of the 2022 games to Qatar was also controversial; the illegality of homosexuality in the nation caused Blatter to joke that "I would say they [gay fans] should refrain from any sexual activities",^[36] which brought condemnation from retired professional basketball player John Amaechi and gay rights groups.^[37]

2011 FIFA presidential election[link]

Blatter (right) with Luis Suárez, the MVP of the 2011 Copa America.

In 2011, elections were scheduled for the FIFA presidency, in which Blatter was again the incumbent candidate, running for a fourth consecutive term. The ChangeFIFA organisation, on 29 March 2011, endorsed former Chilean defender and for 3 years running South American Footballer of the Year Elias Figueroa as candidate for the presidency, urging national federations to nominate him^[38], but, subsequently, Figueroa decided not to accept the nomination, stating that "in such a short period of time" he could not develop a case "worthy of the magnitude and importance of such a distinguished job"^[38]

The vote took place at the 61st FIFA Congress in Zurich.^[39] The only other candidate, Mohammed bin Hammam of Qatar, withdrew from the presidential race on 28 May, just before the vote.^[39] Bin Hammam had supported Blatter's 1998 and 2002 presidential campaigns, but admitted that he had fallen out with Blatter over issues within the FIFA Executive Committee.^[40] The FIFA ethics committee that investigated bribery claims against Bin Hammam and CONCACAF head Jack Warner announced that Blatter will not face an investigation into claims that he knew of the bribery and did nothing about it, due to a lack of evidence.^[41]

Blatter criticised the International Olympic Committee (IOC), stating FIFA manage their finances "like a housewife", after the IOC announced it would look into allegations of corruption against Issa Hayatou, president of the Confederation of African Football.^[42]

There being no other nominations, Sepp Blatter ran unopposed in the 2011 FIFA elections. On 1 June, Blatter was re-elected president for a fourth term, with 186 of the 203 votes in his favour. In his campaign, Blatter had stipulated that, if re-elected in 2011, he would not run again for president.^[43][44]

Changes to the game made under Blatter[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2010)

Blatter at the 2014 FIFA Announcement in 2007

• The silver goal replaced the golden goal rule in extra time of play-off matches. Under the golden goal rule, the match ends immediately if one side scores in extra time. The silver goal rule states that the match will end at the half-time period in extra time if one team is leading – otherwise the match will continue until the end of the extra time period. Some fans believe that this rule change makes the game less exciting, while others felt that the game is more fair as a result. The new rule was first applied in the Euro 2004 competition, but it has since been discontinued along with golden goal. All competitions have now reverted to the traditional extra time rules, i.e. they must play the full amount of extra time, no matter what the score is.
• Since the 2002 World Cup, the current World Cup champion no longer automatically qualifies for the next World Cup finals, as was the case for the champions of all 16 previous World Cups.^[45]
• National associations must now enforce immediate suspensions of all players sent off during a game, even if television replays offer compelling evidence of a player's innocence. In particular, Blatter insists that a referee's judgement must be seen as final and that mistakes are part of the game. The FA, however, has refused to follow this directive, and allows appeals against straight red cards (though not those resulting from two yellows).
• Under Blatter, starting in 2004, the game implemented the booking of players who remove their shirts after scoring a goal, as well as those who are guilty of 'over-zealous celebrations'. The rationale for this rule change is that football is a global sport, and thus the sensibilities of conservative nations and spectators must be respected.
• In 2007, Blatter decided that no football matches will be played above 2500 metres (8200 ft) above sea level. This number was revised to 3000 metres (9840 feet) on 26 June 2007. The move had consequences for the Bolivia national football team, whose stadium (Estadio Hernando Siles) is located more than 3000 metres above sea level. The next day, FIFA also announced a special exemption for the Estadio Hernando Siles, allowing the stadium to continue holding World Cup qualifying matches.

Philosophy[link]

Blatter with Joe Biden in Johannesburg during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Blatter campaigned to put Africa on the map of FIFA World Cup venues

Blatter has been involved in a wide range of humanitarian projects. Since his election as FIFA president in 1998, he has participated in several campaigns aiming to increase public awareness of children's rights and to bring football to less privileged regions of the world, ensuring its contribution to social advancement. Blatter considers football to provide a "basic education, character formation and fighting spirit, allied with respect and discipline", and which potentially allows better understanding among the peoples of the world. "Football for all, all for football" – is said to be his motto.^[46]

Honours[link]

Sepp Blatter has received the following awards:

• Recipient of the 'Global Award for Peace' awarded by the International Amateur Athletic Association.^[47]
• Liberian Humane Order of African Redemption^[48]
• Honorary title of 'Datuk Seri' from the Sultan of Pahang and former President of the Asian Football Confederation, Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joseph "Sepp" Blatter

• FIFA President's page on official website of FIFA
• Excerpt from 'Foul' by Andrew Jennings
• 2002 Observer article outlining criticism of Blatter
• TIME Europe article on Zen-Ruffinen's allegations