The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) yesterday announced a landmark kit sponsorship agreement with global sportswear giant Adidas.

Nigerian teams were hitherto kitted by Nike, but the departing NFF said the new agreement with Adidas is more beneficial to the country.

The deal was announced yesterday by former NFF President, Ibrahim Gusau, while announcing his decision to resign as Nigeria’s football boss.

Described by Gusau as the single highest kit sponsorship package on the African continent, the multi-million-dollar deal will see Adidas inject $4.5 million in direct cash yearly into Nigerian football, complemented by an additional $4 million worth of premium sports apparel, equipment, and match kit allocations every year.

At yesterday’s press conference attended by top football administrators, state FA chairmen, club owners, and media executives in Abuja, Gusau said that the bold switch stemmed from economic necessity and a determination to rescue the federation from restrictive, outdated commercial terms.

He said that the federation’s previous contract with Nike, an 11-year agreement running on fixed terms, had become heavily degraded by volatile global exchange rates and soaring domestic inflation.

Under the outgoing terms, Nike supplied $500,000 in cash and $1 million worth of equipment yearly.

Gusau said: “When we came on board in 2022, the dollar was trading around 400 and something. In 2023, it rose… and in late January 2024, the dollar started running at 1,400.

“It became extremely, extremely difficult for us. We met a contract that was signed for 11 years running on the same terms—$500,000 cash and $1 million in kits. 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 noted that the $1 million kit allocation had become woefully inadequate to service Nigeria’s extensive network of national teams, frequently forcing the NFF to spend scarce domestic funds purchasing extra jerseys for national youth and women’s teams during international tournaments.

“What does a kit sports producer need? Visibility.”

Gusau noted that “even smaller countries are receiving more than what we were being given. We engaged Nike starting in 2024, but we couldn’t reach an agreement because whatever they were offering, we were not satisfied with it. When we contacted Adidas, we received a good response. Nike had matching rights under the contract, but when we presented what we received from Adidas, they were not able to match it.”

He added that the new Adidas arrangement includes a 20 per cent royalty stream on all official merchandise sold through Adidas retail outlets in Nigeria—a retail network expected to expand from 13 to 32 stores over the next three years.