MTN Play brings Ayoba experience to your cellphone

With the 2010 World Cup starting today, MTN has unveiled a host of new Ayoba offerings through the MTN Play portal.

As part of its sponsorship of the event, it has the exclusive mobile content rights to the event for Africa and the Middle East that will allow those not fortunate enough to attend the matches live, to catch highlights on their cellphones through the portal.

“There will be various gaming offerings for our customers, including FIFA fantasy predictors, music tracks and wallpapers, as well as core FIFA tournament products such as team and player information and updates. Furthermore, there will be highlights available for download from MTN Play for those fans who want to relive their favourite football moments,” says Serame Taukobong, chief marketing officer of MTN South Africa.

The MTN Play portal will provide subscribers with live match updates either through a premium or standard package, as well as an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Commentary Line, which will offer live commentary on all matches.

Further to the official FIFA mobile downloads, 2010 World Cup official music and other football content, the MTN Play portal also has a detailed history of the tournament with information on all the different teams competing. It will update the standing and fixtures, and have accurate and detailed information on the power rankings and the venues, not to mention the galleries and news that will be updated constantly. Added to this, MTN Play will host a local entertainment guide, offering live reports and entertainment information across all the host cities.

You can challenge your friends to play against you in a league while competing in the global league against the best in the world. Create your fantasy league and score while your league players win in the 2010 World Cup. If you enjoy competing, there is also a trivia game - an interactive SMS game that pits your knowledge of the 2010 World Cup against that of other soccer fans.

On the mobile application side, the MTN Ovi Application on the Nokia Ovi App store will provide downloadable mobile content, including Official FIFA Mobile assets. For BlackBerry users, the BlackBerry Find and Follow SA App on BlackBerry World will allow you to stay on top of the latest news, scores, schedules, restaurant, transport and other services.

MTN also has the exclusive rights to the Sony Ericsson W205 walkman phone. It comes pre-loaded with FIFA screensavers, wallpapers and themes as well as the FIFA 2009 soundtrack. There are also FIFA ring tones, the FIFA 2009 game, and a silkscreen printed back cover on offer. When accessing the MTN Play portal, you can also watch Live Mobile TV. The Super Sports Blitz channel will be video streaming so you can catch all the highlights!

“All told, the 2010 FIFA World Cup is going to be an event that will launch South Africa and Africa into the hearts and minds of the world. All eyes will be on South Africa in June and July to witness how we will make this the best World Cup yet. MTN is proud to be a global sponsor of this huge event and we cannot wait for the opening whistle to kick off the experience. It's Ayoba time!” concludes Taukobong.

Visit the MTN Play portal at http://www.MTNPlay.co.za.