Pinnick Reveals Why Adidas and Puma Left Nigerian Football

Amaju Pinnick, the former president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), disclosed in an episode of “The Pinnick Tapes” that sportswear giants Adidas and Puma ended their commercial relationships with Nigerian football due to incidents involving three Nigerians. Pinnick stated that shortly after he assumed office, Adidas indicated its intention to leave, prompting him to travel to Zurich to meet with the company's president in an effort to persuade them to reconsider.

Despite his attempts, he was unable to change their decision. Pinnick noted that the sponsorship crisis became evident as other companies, including Globacom, General Insurance, and Guinness, also announced their departure from Nigerian football.

He recounted his initial resistance from Puma's top executive, who refused to meet him upon learning he was Nigerian. Eventually, the executive shared an incident where three Nigerians allegedly approached him on Christmas Day, proposing to abandon an existing Adidas contract with demands of their own, which led to Puma blacklisting Nigeria.