The Nigeria Football Federation and leading sportswear company,
NIKE have signed a new, robust
partnership agreement that officials from both organizations termed ‘dawn of a
new era.’
American kit company, NIKE, which had teamed up with the Nigeria
Football Federation in April 2015 following the departure of another global
brand has signed a four year deal with the NFF
“We need to know where we are coming from to be able to
appreciate where we are now. A few months after we came on board for our first
term in office, I was told that we needed to buy jerseys for the National Team
to play a football match. That was how bad it was, because the kit sponsor at
that time terminated the contract.
“So, I made contacts with some highly connected persons and
worked hard to convince NIKE to come on board. We were coming from a weak
position but they made the agreement flexible for us. Today, we are happy we
teamed up with NIKE because after we qualified and participated at the FIFA
World Cup in Russia, the company was the one chasing us for a new improved
contract,” President of NFF, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick, said at the contract –signing
ceremony inside the Stephen Keshi Stadium.
Chairman of the NFF Marketing, Sponsorship and TV Rights
Committee, Mallam Shehu Dikko, who is also the NFF 2nd Vice
President, said NIKE’s faith in Nigerian Football and its encouragement all the
way have been heartwarming.
“They never stopped believing in us and in our teams, and after
they conducted their due diligence on everyone involved in the running of the
NFF, they were very eager to sign this new deal as far back as when we returned
from the World Cup in Russia. But we kept telling them to give us some time.
“We are very happy because this new agreement comes with good
money on annual basis, more supplies, improved qualification bonus for our
teams, door-to-door delivery of kits, royalty for the NFF on jerseys sold and it
has now been expanded to include our women national teams.”
The new agreement is also flexible with regards to market
situation, and performance of the National Teams. “We have a window for renewal
of this contract in 2023 but most terms of the agreement as presently constituted
would improve should the Super Eagles make a huge impact at the 2022 FIFA World
Cup.
“This contract brings a huge sigh of relief. Now, we do not have
to worry about clearing kits at the ports because NIKE now has that
responsibility to bring it to our door. All the National Teams are now captured,
we earn money on number of jerseys sold and a new kit will be designed for
Nigeria prior to the 2020 Olympics Games in Tokyo,” Dikko added.
Tina Salminen, NIKE’s Sports Marketing Director (African
Football), expressed delight at the signing of the new contract: “NIKE is very,
very happy with its relationship with Nigeria. The jersey we designed for Nigeria
for the FIFA World Cup won the award as for Best Designed Jersey and was hugely
popular. It has remained a source of reference in NIKE meetings and events ever
since.
“Nigeria is one of the big teams in world football and we are
happy to get them to sign a long term contract.”
NFF 1st Vice President and Chairman of the Legal
Committee, Barr. Seyi Akinwunmi assured NIKE that the NFF would abide by every
letter of the new contract, and said the Federation is in fact looking forward
to signing another much –improved deal after the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Also at the event were NFF Executive Committee members Ibrahim
Musa Gusau, Sharif Rabiu Inuwa, Yusuf Ahmed ‘Fresh’, Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande,
Musa Duhu, Emmanuel Ibah, Chidi Ofo Okenwa, Mohammed Alkali and Ganiyu
Majekodunmi, as well as former NFF Board Member Peter Singabele.
What a good deal.
ReplyDelete