NFF signs N500m deal with MTN — second partnership in 24 hours

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has signed a sponsorship deal worth N500 million with MTN.

The contract was sealed at an official signing ceremony held in Lagos on Thursday.

The deal, which will see MTN become the exclusive communications partner of the Nigerian national football teams, is an annual contract renewable over a period of three years.

Speaking to reporters at the event, Amaju Pinnick, president of NFF, expressed his excitement over the deal and its potential influence on Nigerian football.

He said the sponsorship deal will bolster NFF books, adding that the federation has attained “85 per cent of self-funding.”

“We are excited with our partnership with MTN because it is something that has been going on for a very long time,” the NFF president said.

“We believe that in carrying out our culture of football development, we need a brand that has stood the test of time, the one that has gone through the thick of Nigeria system, and that brand is MTN.

“We consider this partnership as a great privilege because MTN is a dependable brand.

“At the end of my tenure, I want to see Nigerian football 100 per cent self-funding without involving government; of course, we thank the government for the past support.

“I can say now that NFF that did start off from point zero has attained 85 per cent of self-funding as at the signing of this partnership.”

On his part, Karl Toriola, MTN chief executive officer, said the deal further stresses the company’s passion to develop football in the country.

“Right from the start of our operations in Nigeria in 2001, we have always connected with good cause. It is on having to invest in platforms that unite the nation, and there is no greater platform than football,” he said.

“We have a favourite slogan in MTN, and this is ‘Nigeria, where football lives’, and we have demonstrated this by supporting football and its development.

“We have supported from the highest international level to national competitions so as to take initiatives that add values to us. We have also supported other causes in football development.

“We are passionate about football, and we take it seriously that millions of Nigerians have passion for this great sport, so we as an organisation looks beyond challenges to opportunities and promises.”

The partnership comes about 24 hours after the NFF also added Air Peace as the official airline sponsor of the Nigerian national teams on Wednesday — in a deal worth N300 million.