Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Melvin Amaju Pinnick has expressed happiness over what he called ‘a new, robust partnership agreement’ with sportswear giants, Nike.
While describing the new deal sign on Tuesday in Asaba ‘dawn of a new era’ between both organisations, footballlive.ng gathered that Pinnick is enthusiastic that it will bring more glory for Nigeria’s national teams.
He recounted how the American sports kit company teamed up with the NFF in April 2015, and enthused that Tuesday’s new contract signing is seen by both parties as the real deal.
Pinnick pointed out that the agreement is for four years at the first instance, with an automatic renewal clause that will take the pact till the end of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The NFF boss added: “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.”
