Idris Adama insists NFF have cash to prosecute World Cup qualifier

Ex-marketing boss of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Idris Adama has alleged it is fraudulent for anyone to claim the federation are too broke to fly the Super Eagles to Zambia for Sunday’s World Cup qualifier.


NFF president Amaju Pinnick told the senate sports committee Tuesday they are yet to pay for the team's chartered flight and the hotel in Ndola because they do not have the cash.

However, Idris Adama said he has it on good authority that is not the case.

He revealed that a huge sponsorship cash lodged in a joint account with the NFF marketing agent Pamodzi is more than enough to cushion whatever imagined financial woes confronting the football federation.

“Several of the sponsors have paid up. Emzor Paracetemol and Globacom have all paid and there is $1 million from Supersport with the NFF marketing agent, who only needs to take his 20% commission, and pay the balance to the NFF,” Adama opened up at HotFm Abuja.

The former marketing director said in his time at the NFF he generated 1.4 billion Naira annually for the federation before he was unceremoniously eased out by the Pinnick Amaju-led NFF.

It was understood that he had fallen out with the NFF leadership over a Nike sponsorship deal the NFF entered last year which did not pay the federation any retainership, unlike the adidas kit sponsorship, which paid the same NFF 800,000 Euros as retainership a year.