Panic As German Sportswear Giants Puma to Sue Nigeria for Breach of Contract Over $2.7m Kits
- Puma has terminated its contract with Nigeria after the German sportswear giants cited a breach
- Latest reports have it that Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports and Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) will be dragged to court
- The Athletics Federation of Nigeria under the leadership of Ibrahim Gusau had signed a four-year $2.76m deal with the company
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Trouble looms for the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports and Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) as reports have it that German sportswear manufacturing giants Puma will file a suit against them, Punch reports.
Puma had on Wednesday, August 4, terminated a four-year-contract it entered with the AFN over a controversial $2.76m deal which was signed on July 24, 2019, in Doha.
It was gathered that the AFN had entered the deal under the leadership of Ibrahim Gusau at the time.
Source: UGC
There were controversies which consequently led to the a major crisis and the athletics body split into two factions as both Gusau and Adeleye were accused of sidelining other members of the board.
The contract was due to expire in 2022 and part of the clauses were that Puma will supply apparel to all age categories to Nigeria’s Athletics team for four years at no cost.
Moreso, gold medalists at the Olympic Games will get $15,000 each while, silver medalists and bronze medalists will earn $5,000 and $3,000 respectively if they wear the Puma apparel.
Nigerian athletes failed to don the Puma kits at the Tokyo Olympics and now the German sportswear manufacturer has cited a breach of contract against clauses 9.2 and 7.3 of the Agreement.
According to the report, Puma representatives have reached out to the Gusau-led AFN informing them of an intention to sue.
A source said that the sports ministry would be made a party to the suit via Sahara Reporters:
“Because they issued a memo granting AFN permission to seek sponsorship. Puma sees AFN as a representative of Nigeria with that memo. It gave them confidence that AFN had approval.
“They also claimed that as of the time of signing the contract, the parties involved are recognised by law and FG, and there was no faction to warrant suspicion. They believe an administration is a continuum and the agreement has government backing.”
Nigerian athletes battle insufficient kits in Tokyo 2020
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigerian athletes are currently battling with insufficient kits at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games despite having a deal with Puma while heading to the Summer Games.
But somewhere down the lane, members of the Olympics Committee decided to use public funds to buy kits from a different source.
This decision however leaves all the branded costumes for the Nigerian contingent wasting away somewhere in the country while those who needed them are using their hands to wash their kits.
Source: Legit.ng
