Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and soft drink manufacturers Coca Cola yesterday signed a five year deal that would see the latter cough out N550 million for the sponsorship of the Nigerian national football teams.

Coca Cola had committed N288 million in their first six years deal with the NFF, amounting to N48 million per year; but the new deal with fetch the football ruling body N110 million annually.

The amount, which represents about 200 percent increment from the first six year agreement which elapsed early this year, would start in 2010 and ends 2014.

At the signing ceremony at the NFF secretariat in Abuja yesterday, Coca Cola's Executive Director Marketing Austin Ufomba said aside from the contract sum, Coca Cola will also commit N100 million into the deal as value in kind that would spread across the five years.

He revealed that COCA Cola was delighted with its partnership with the football governing body in the last six years, hence the decision to improve its commitment in the renewed contract.

Aside that, Ufomba says the decision to increase the contract sum was informed by the fact that football in Nigeria has grown to an enviable height.

He also said the company was reviewing its decision to withdraw from sponsoring the annual national FA Cup, stressing that "we will give re-think to the FA Cup sponsorship, which is a possibility and we hope to be back".

NFF President, Alhaji Sani Lulu Abdullahi who signed for the federation, urged the soft drink manufacturers to work towards raising the bar from the present position which he said the new board achieved by improving on the fortunes of the nation's football.

He assured that the board would continue to take the Nigeria football to greater heights, beyond the N1 billion value the nation's football has attracted, especially given the enabling environment provided by the Federal Government for thriving business activities.

"We should appreciate that the value of Nigerian football has increased to over N1 billion and this is because the Federal Government has created an enabling environment for us to operate.

"We met little money from sponsors but today we have been able to attract more sponsors and the value of our football has also increased to over N1 billion and we expect more", Lulu stated.