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The outgoing President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Musa Gusau, has lamented that his predecessor signed a 10-year “slavery” kit sponsorship deal with Nike.
He made the disclosure at the press briefing to announce his resignation at the football federation’s national headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.
While decrying that the “slavery” contract contributed to starving his federation board financially, he said that he had strenuously corrected the anomaly with the recent finalisation of a new sponsorship deal with another kit sponsorship company, Adidas.
Indicting his predecessor, Amaju Pinnick, the immediate past NFF boss also disclosed that the new deal with Adidas is worth $8.5 million (about N10.9 billion) annually.
He further explained that the sponsorship partnership involved $4.5 million in cash and $4 million worth of equipment and kits for Nigeria’s national teams, following the end of the current Nike contract.
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According to him, the contract with Nike was on the same financial terms for 11 years, despite the significant increase in the cost of football administration, international competitions and equipment during the period, lamenting that the situation resulted in his administration buying national team jerseys in the open market.
Questioning the value of receiving the same $500,000 and $1 million worth of kits in 2026 provided when the agreement was signed in 2015, he said: “There is something that is very worrisome. There was a contract we had with Nike. All of you are aware we had an agreement with Nike.”
He explained that the NFF’s kit requirements had grown considerably, making the annual allocation insufficient to cater for the various national teams participating in international competitions.
“Unlike before, when you could call any NFF staff or the president and he would give you a jersey, things have changed. As president of the NFF, if you come to my house now, I can’t bring out a set of jerseys because we had a contract that was signed for 11 years on the same terms—$500,000 and $1 million worth of kits,” he said.
Gusau said the unchanged value of the agreement had effectively eroded its worth over time, lamenting: “If somebody is giving you $500,000 in 2015 and still giving you the same amount in 2026, it is like having nothing. And somebody gives you kits worth $1 million in 2015 and now still gives you the same,” he added.
