Nigeria signs $8.5m deal with adidas for new kits

Nigeria is ending its 11-year partnership with Nike and returning to adidas. They have agreed on an $8.5 million yearly deal for equipment, which the Nigeria Football Federation believes is the biggest in African football.

Ibrahim Gusau, the former NFF president, announced the deal at a press conference in Abuja. He said adidas will pay the federation $4.5 million every year in cash and provide another $4 million worth of equipment for Nigeria's national teams.

The NFF will also get a 20 percent royalty from merchandise sales. This could raise the total value of the deal beyond the $8.5 million annual amount.

Gusau mentioned that the contract is already signed. It was supposed to be announced in September. He said it is the highest kit deal ever for any African country. "It is about the highest kit sponsorship in Africa. No other country in Africa has that kind of sponsorship," Gusau told reporters.

"Adidas will pay Nigeria $4.5 million every year in cash and then they will provide kit worth $4 million every year."

This agreement is the largest publicly known kit supply deal for an African national football federation. The previous highest was Morocco's deal with Puma, valued at $1.7 million.

Gusau explained that Nigeria's outgoing contract with Nike, signed in 2015, was no longer meeting the federation's needs. "As (former) president, I cannot gift someone a jersey because we met a contract that has been running for 11 years on the same terms worth $500,000 in cash and $1 million in kit supply. $500,000 in 2015 and still $500,000 in 2026. It is like you have nothing," he said.

Nigeria first signed with Nike in April 2015 after its earlier deal with adidas ended due to issues during the 2014 World Cup. Gusau stated that the limitations of the Nike deal had become so serious that the federation had to buy extra kits for its teams, including the U-20 women’s team for the World Cup in Poland.

"We have to buy jerseys for the girls that travelled to Poland because $1 million worth of equipment cannot even service Super Eagles qualifiers for World Cup and Nations Cup as well as Super Falcons," he said.

He revealed that the federation started asking Nike for better terms in 2024 but could not reach an agreement. This pushed them to look for other offers, while Nike had the right to match the best offer.

"Finally, they agreed that we could negotiate with others. At the end of the day we contacted adidas and other kit sponsors and we were able to secure a substantial agreement with adidas. Nike has to match whatever we were offered. They were unable to match the offer from adidas and that is why we are moving on," he said.

Adidas previously supplied Nigeria during its 1994 Africa Cup of Nations win and its first World Cup appearance that same year. They provided kits again from 2004 to 2014, which included the Super Eagles’ 2013 Africa Cup of Nations title.

Nike's return in 2015 brought some of Nigeria’s most famous kits, including the popular 2018 World Cup jersey. Gusau said adidas has a larger presence in Nigeria with about 13 stores compared to Nike’s one. Adidas plans to expand to 32 stores within two years, which will help increase the NFF’s royalty income.

He added that this extra revenue would give the federation more options to hire top coaches for the Super Eagles and Super Falcons, where finances have often limited their choices.