WITH football the world’s most popular sport, the national team jersey is just as important a national symbol as a flag or a nation’s Coat of Arms. We recognise the trademark canary-coloured shirts of Brazil, the cerulean stripes of the Albiceleste, the flaming Fury of the Spanish red, and even many forget there is no blue in the Italian flag when the Azzurri file out.
Just as iconic is Nigeria’s green and white – in it, the Super Eagles have won three Africa Nations Cups, dazzled and intimidated in equal measure at multiple World Cups and achieved Olympian deity.
The news of the NFF’s new technical partnership with American sportwear company Nike provokes a giddy relapse into the memory of those epic victories over Brazil and Argentina in 1996. Nike will provide match kits, training gear and merchandise for the Super Eagles till at least 2018 under the terms of the contract.
This ends an affiliation with German company Adidas spanning just over a decade. That in itself was a hold-over from the 1994 World Cup, when Nigeria introduced herself to the footballing world in Adidas jerseys, legendary striker Rashidi Yekini gripping the net and screaming in unbridled passion at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
It is a bit of an emotional wrench, as a lot of Nigeria’s most memorable landmarks have come in Adidas kits. The last two Afcon wins, 19 years apart, have come with them, as did that tantalizing debut at USA 94, ended as Roberto Baggio, Il Codino struck the ball just centimetres past Austin Eguavoen’s heel and beyond Peter Rufai to force extra time.
Nike does however have history with Nigeria, and it was in their three-striped offering that Nwankwo Kanu, with a flick, swivel and turn, elevated himself into the pantheon of Nigerian football. The 1996 Olympic Games is one that will live long in the memory, and Nike will remain forever a part of that history, the toga of that team of Olympian gods.
The U20 national team will be the first to benefit from the new deal, with the World Cup scheduled to begin on the 31st of May. They will be provided, as will all Nigerian national teams, with an exclusive custom design per the contract; this will serve until mid-2016 when Nike’s official designs for the 2016-2017 season will be released.
It is somewhat fitting that it is Manu Garba’s side who will be the first to grace Nike’s new kits: they are the most talented group since the class of ’96, and are set to make a statement just as emphatic. They go into the tournament as one of the favourites, and if as expected they progress far, Nike may have their trademark swish identified with another golden generation.
Already, there have been many reactions and expectations regarding quality and colour pouring in, unsurprising in light of the backlash against Adidas’ World Cup design. While Nike’s recent bare-bones approach to kits would be a welcome change for most, it is worth considering that there is only so much one can do with just green and white. As a base, these two (rather dull) choices do not leave much room for creativity and expression, and Nigerians as a people are nothing if not flamboyant.