Ibrahim Musa Gusau has stepped down as president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), using his farewell speech in Abuja to announce a record $8.5 million annual kit agreement with Adidas and confirm the end of Nigeria’s long-running relationship with Nike.
Addressing the intense attention surrounding his time in office, Gusau remarked that his name had seemed to dominate public discussion. “Everywhere you go, it is Gusau, Gusau, Gusau. My name has even been mentioned more than Donald Trump’s,” he said. He also expressed gratitude for the chance to serve as NFF president, lead WAFU B and sit on the CAF Executive Committee, adding that he was confident Nigerian football had a promising future.
The agreement was unveiled at a press conference attended by football officials, chairmen of state football associations, club proprietors and media executives. Gusau described it as the most valuable kit sponsorship arrangement ever secured on the African continent.
Adidas will provide $4.5 million in yearly cash payments to the NFF, while another $4 million annually will come in the form of clothing, equipment and match-day kits. The federation will also receive a 20 per cent share of royalties from official merchandise sold at Adidas outlets in Nigeria. The company’s domestic retail presence is expected to expand from 13 stores to 32 within three years.
Gusau said financial realities had prompted the change, particularly the naira’s steep decline during the outgoing 11-year Nike agreement. He explained that Nike’s contract guaranteed $500,000 in cash and $1 million worth of kit each year, without adjustments for currency fluctuations. In his account, the value of those terms was badly weakened as the exchange rate shifted from about N400 to the dollar in 2022 to N1,400 by the beginning of 2024.
“When a partner pays you $500,000 in 2015 and continues with the same amount in 2026, what does that represent? It is almost as if you have received nothing,” Gusau said.
The NFF began discussions with Nike in 2024 in an effort to secure better conditions, but the two sides failed to reach a new understanding. Gusau said Nike, despite possessing contractual matching rights, chose not to equal Adidas’s proposal.
He added that the increased income would give the federation the financial capacity to target prominent coaches for both the Super Eagles and the Super Falcons, something he said had previously been beyond the NFF’s means.
Looking back on his board’s three years and 11 months in charge, Gusau highlighted the revival of the CAF “A” Licence coaching programme after an eight-year absence. The course is due to start on 16 September. He also cited the reorganisation of the Nigeria Premier Football League around set match dates and the selection of Nigerian referees for recent continental competitions, including the Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations and the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Another project he identified as part of the board’s legacy is the national-team training complex under construction in Bauchi. The site will include a modern match computer centre and accommodation facilities, with construction financed through four years of FIFA Forward development funding. Completion is scheduled for March next year, and the centre is intended to reduce the NFF’s dependence on private hotels for national-team camps—an arrangement Gusau said currently costs the federation billions of naira every year.
