Nigeria prepares to end Nike era as Adidas return beckons

Nigeria’s 11-year relationship with global sportswear giant Nike is heading towards its final months, with the current agreement scheduled to expire in December 2026, Savid News can exclusively report.

This development comes in the wake of Adidas’s take over as the new technical partner of the country’s national teams from January 2027.

SavidNews understands that the December expiry of the existing Nike agreement will mark a major turning point in Nigeria’s national-team kit arrangement, following the Nigeria Football Federation’s announcement of a new multi-million-dollar partnership with Adidas.

The incoming Adidas agreement, announced by former NFF President Ibrahim Gusau in August, has been described by the federation as the biggest kit sponsorship package involving an African national football association. 

Under the reported terms, Adidas is expected to provide the NFF with $4.5 million in annual cash, alongside approximately $4 million worth of playing kits, training wear, equipment and other sports apparel for Nigeria’s national teams.

The package also provides for a 20 per cent royalty on qualifying Adidas merchandise sales in Nigeria, meaning the potential commercial value could rise beyond the guaranteed $8.5 million annual cash-and-equipment package. 

The development brings to an end one of the longest-running technical partnerships in recent Nigerian football history. Nike began supplying Nigeria’s national teams in 2015, with the agreement later extended until the end of December 2026.

The outgoing NFF leadership had argued that the financial terms of the Nike agreement had become increasingly inadequate for the demands of running Nigeria’s extensive national-team programme.

According to Gusau, the existing arrangement provided approximately $500,000 in annual cash and $1 million in equipment, figures he said had remained unchanged despite inflation, exchange-rate pressures and the rising cost of international football. 

Gusau said the NFF had engaged Nike from 2024 in an attempt to secure improved terms but eventually moved towards Adidas after receiving what the federation considered a substantially stronger proposal.

The new arrangement is expected to cover Nigeria’s major national teams, including the Super Eagles, Super Falcons and the various youth teams, although the precise transition timetable and operational details will become clearer as the Nike agreement approaches its December expiration.

The Adidas package could also significantly expand the volume and range of equipment available to Nigeria’s national teams, an issue the NFF had previously raised in relation to the Nike arrangement.

Gusau disclosed that Adidas’ commercial footprint in Nigeria was another factor considered by the federation, with the German company having a considerably larger retail presence and plans for further expansion. The agreement also gives the NFF a share of merchandise sales. 

The switch comes at a particularly important moment for Nigerian football, with the NFF undergoing major administrative changes following the resignation of Gusau and his Executive Committee and subsequent engagement between FIFA, the National Sports Commission and Nigerian football stakeholders over reforms.

For now, Nike remains Nigeria’s contracted technical partner until December, while Adidas waits in the wings with a deal that promises a substantially larger financial and equipment package from January 2027.