Monday, November 30, 2009              

NFF insists on better deal for Super Eagles
From Ezeocha, Nzeh, Abuja

THE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has reiterated its desire to revisit the Super Eagles sponsorship deal with telecommunications giant, Globacom, stating that it wants to bring the value of the senior national team to the same level with other teams billed for the South Africa 2010 World Cup.

NFF Assistant Secretary-General, Marketing, Idris Adama, told journalists over the weekend in Abuja that it would be wrong for the team to play at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa at its present value, adding that the team was the least rated side among those that qualified for the mundial.

While stressing the need to review the team's worth with its official sponsor, Adama disclosed that the NFF conducted a financial analysis of all South Africa 2010 World Cup-bound teams and found out that the Nigerian national side had the least deals.

Therefore, regretting that the national teams of Cameroun, Cote d'Ivoire, Algeria and Ghana attracted more financial value than Nigeria's, Adama said: "It is very necessary that we bring the Super Eagles to the rank of committee of football nations by ensuring that it gets the right value."

Adama further revealed that the NFF had been in talks with the official sponsor of the team's jersey, Nike, for the introduction of a new design for both the Africa Nations and World Cups. He revealed that the team would appear in a newly designed jersey which, according to him, would be launched in Abuja in December before the Nations Cup.