Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Ibrahim Musa Gusau announced his resignation in Abuja yesterday, using his final address to unveil a record $8.5 million-a-year kit sponsorship deal with Adidas that ends the federation’s long-standing partnership with Nike.
Reflecting on the scrutiny of his tenure, Gusau said: ‘Everywhere you see: Gusau, Gusau, Gusau. My name has even been more pronounced than the name of Donald Trump!’ He added: ‘I thank God for the opportunity given to me to serve my country as President of the NFF, as President of WAFU B, and on the CAF Executive Committee. Going forward, I know the future of Nigerian football will be great.’
Gusau announced the deal at a press conference in Abuja attended by football administrators, state FA chairmen, club owners and media executives, describing it as the highest kit sponsorship package on the African continent.
Under the agreement, Adidas will pay $4.5 million in direct annual cash to the NFF, plus a further $4 million in apparel, equipment and match kit allocations each year. The deal also includes a 20 per cent royalty on official merchandise sold through Adidas outlets in Nigeria, with the retailer’s local store network projected to grow from 13 to 32 over the next three years.
Gusau said the switch was driven by economic necessity, citing the naira’s collapse against the dollar during Nigeria’s outgoing 11-year Nike contract. He said the Nike deal fixed cash and kit terms at $500,000 and $1 million a year respectively regardless of exchange-rate movements, which he said eroded the deal’s real value as the exchange rate moved from roughly N400 to the dollar in 2022 to N1,400 by early 2024.
‘If somebody was giving you $500,000 in 2015 and is still giving you $500,000 in 2026, what do you say about it? It is like you have nothing,’ Gusau said.
He said the NFF approached Nike from 2024 seeking improved terms but could not reach agreement, and that Nike declined to match Adidas’s offer despite holding matching rights in the contract.
Gusau said the new funding would let the NFF pursue high-profile head coaches for the Super Eagles and Super Falcons, a step he said the federation had previously been unable to afford.
Reviewing his board’s three-year, 11-month tenure, Gusau pointed to the return of the CAF ‘A’ Licence coaching course after an eight-year gap, due to begin on 16 September; the restructuring of the Nigeria Premier Football League around fixed fixture dates; and the placement of Nigerian referees on recent continental assignments at the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations and the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Gusau also pointed to the ongoing construction of a national teams camp in Bauchi, comprising a modern match computer centre and accommodation facilities, as a legacy project of his board. He said the facility, funded through four-year FIFA Forward development money, is scheduled for completion by March next year, and is designed to end the NFF’s reliance on private hotel camping for national teams – a practice he said costs the federation billions of naira annually.