Sports kits manufacturing company, PUMA, has terminated its contract with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN.
This is coming amidst what has turned out to be a chaotic outing for Nigeria at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics where 10 athletes have accused the federation of incompetence following their suspension for not completing the mandatory three out-of-competition tests before the games.
According to a letter signed by the company’s local manager, Herman Brink, PUMA said it was officially notifying “the Nigerian Athletics body of its termination of Sponsoring and Licensing Agreement” as a fall out of recent developments, particularly at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where Nigeria has refused to kit its athletes with the wears.
The contract, which according to the German sportswear manufacturing giant was signed on behalf of Nigeria by the duo of Ibrahim Gusau, factional President of the AFN, and Sunday Adeleye, a former Technical Director has been the subject of controversy for a long time after the Minister of Sports raised objections to the deal.
The Sunday Dare-led Ministry of Sports has continuously stated that the PUMA deal did not comply with due process citing the involvement of a privately owned firm, Dynamic Solutions, allegedly a front by Adeleye, where the payment was reportedly made by the kits company.
Team Nigeria athletes did not wear the PUMA kits supplied by the company, but rather wore one locally produced which was unveiled by the country’s Vice President, few days before the first batch of Team Nigeria athletes departed for Tokyo.
The kits crisis took an embarrassing dimension on Tuesday when a video emerged online of Nigeria’s shotput finalist at the Tokyo Olympics, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, washing his sole jersey to prepare for the final. The video has since gone viral, leading to a barrage of criticisms, ridicule, and attacks on the Nigerian government and the sports federation for its shabby treatment of its sportsmen and women.
A similar report had emerged earlier before the games showing team Nigeria contingent to the Tokyo Olympics arriving with different items of clothing instead of the uniform sports kits worn by other countries. The Federation denied at the time there was no kit problem.
Meanwhile, there are feelers that PUMA may sue Nigeria to the tune of $2.76m (N1.1bn) for failing to fulfill its part of the agreement signed with Gusau’s led AFN, despite the company claiming to have met all its financial obligations to the federation.
