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THE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) broke new grounds on Saturday, 20 December, 2025 when it formally announced Mr. Chef as the Official Food Seasoning Partner of the national teams, including the Super Eagles.
In a press statement, NFF Secretary General, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, noted that the collaboration with Sweet Nutrition Limited, makers of the Mr. Chef brand, reflects a “shared vision of excellence and pride.” In response, the managing director of Sweet Nutrition Limited, Kumar Venkataraman, confirmed that the partnership reflects the company’s belief in “supporting national excellence and moments that unite Nigerians.”
What moments unite Nigerians better than when the national football teams are in action?! Mr. Chef has hit bullseye with this partnership.
To be very honest about this, I got hint of Mr. Chef’s coming into our football landscape about two weeks before the formal announcement by the NFF. Don’t ask me how I got the hint because that is the secret of our trade as journalists. But I didn’t play around with the information. Instead, I quickly got down to business, and that is how I came about flying the flag of Mr. Chef at this AFCON.
Corporate sponsorship has been a sticky issue in Nigerian football, so when we see a company coming out to partner with the Football Federation, it is worthy of commendation. My hope and expectation is that Sweet Nutrition Limited will find its journey with the national team so sweet as to elicit a permanent partnership.
So, projecting the Mr. Chef brand was fully in my mind when I attended the Super Eagles training this evening at the Sardienne Complex in Fez. The team’s media officer, Promise Efoghe, had informed Nigerian journalists in town through a Whatsapp group chat that the training session would kick off at 4.30pm. Ganiyu Yusuf, James Agberebi and I arrived nearly one hour ahead.
I was surprised to find that the Nigerian press corps in Fez was dominated by social media content creators and the so-called “influencers.” Traditional media publications and broadcasters were nowhere to be found. The Complete Sports team of Ganiyu Yusuf and James Egberebi were the exception, rather than the rule. I always knew that the media landscape had shifted dramatically since we stopped Complete Sports as a print publication and went fully digital. But even I didn’t realize that the shift had gathered so much pace and traction.
Presently, the Super Eagles entourage drove into the training complex and all the waiting media followed them in. I noticed that most of the backroom staff were new to the team, just like several players who were receiving their first invitation to the national team. But I still was able to spot a few old hands among the staff and they welcomed me warmly.
I was quite impressed with the general attitude of the players when they were called over to grant interviews to the media before their training session got under way. As each journalist called his or her choice of players, they responded promptly and walked to the sidelines to be interviewed. I picked Moses Simon and Victor Osimhen and they came over to speak to me without any airs. At the end of the practice session when we had a second round of interviews, I picked Calvin Bassey and captain Wilfred Ndidi, and both of them responded promptly as well.
The practice session itself was quite intense. Coach Eric Chelle and his assistants took a few players to one end of the pitch to practice attacking drills that ended with fierce shooting at the goalkeepers. At the other end of the pitch, the remaining players engaged in playful “Rondo” with lots of laughter. The players cut a picture of a squad that was very united.
As a Mr. Chef “envoy,” most of my questions were focused on the players bud tastes. Moses Simon told me that his favourite dish is pounded yam with “egusi” soup; Victor Osimhen chose “amala” (yam flour) and “gbegiri and ewedu” soup (beans soup and jute leaves). Calvin Bassey said he loved “jollof rice and dodo” (fried plantain). I am sure that Mr. Chef is reading this and taking the players’ meal orders.
However, there were also serious conversations about the football. The one that stood for me was Osimhen’s confession about wanting to make up for their failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. “We know that Nigerian fans are disappointed in us for missing out on the World Cup ticket,” he said. “This AFCON is our chance to make some amends and we will give it our best. Our objective is to win the trophy.” Confidence talk from the superstar of the team.
As the practice session wound up to a close, I walked over to also speak to the Super Eagles Moroccan bus deliver. The moment I pressed play on my recording device, he became animated and began to predict the outcome of Nigeria’s three first round games. He told me, while gesticulating with his fingers: “Nigeria three, Tanzania zero; Nigeria two, Tunisia zero; Nigeria four, Uganda zero; in sha Allah (by the grace of God).”
Who am I to say no to what be a fabulous triple win with clean sheets. I simply said amen to his prayer, “in sha Allah.”
WHILE the Super Eagles were rounding off their practice session in Fez, the opening ceremony of the 35th Africa Cup of Nations got under way at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the Moroccan capital city, Rabat. That was followed by the opening match of the tournament between the hosts, Morocco, and the small Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros in front of 60,000 cheering fans.
After failing to score from a first half penalty kick, Morocco bounced back in the second half to break the stubborn resistance of Comoros with two goals from Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz in the 55th minute, and Ayoub El Kaabi’s sensational overhead kick in the 74th minute. It was not an easy win, but they got the job done in the end.
