Nigerian billionaires are gradually taking over the football space in Europe by investing and buying completely some clubs in Europe.
Nigerians are ardent sports fans, and as a result, sporting ventures have produced enormous profits for owners and stakeholders in Nigeria.
Aside from the entertainment it provides, football is also a very profitable enterprise, and billionaires from the West African country recognise this and are making giant strides to own a piece of it.
Here, Sports Brief and Within Nigeria takes a look at the list of some Nigerian billionaires who have successfully bought European football clubs.
4 Nigerians who own European clubs
1. Kunle Soname (CD Feirense)
Nigerian businessman and entrepreneur Kunle Soname owns Portuguese club CD Feirense. In 2015, the billionaire became the first Nigerian to buy a European football team when he bought Feirense, a second-division club in Portugal, as the primary shareholder.
CD Feirense, plays its home games at the Estádio Marcolino de Castro, which seats around 5,500 people.
Two years after founding Bet9ja, Soname acquired the Portuguese club through his firm, Tavistock Global Resource Limited.
Soname is also the owner and chairman of Remo Stars Football team, a Nigerian professional football team headquartered in Ikenne, Ogun State.
2. Shola Akinlade (Aarhus Fremad)
Shola Akinlade, co-founder and CEO of Paystack, has acquired the Danish club Aarhus Fremad.
The 38-year-old bought a 55% share in the 76-year-old Danish club, which competes in the Danish League's second level, making him the dominant owner.
Shola also formed Sporting Lagos FC in 2022, a football team based in Lagos that competes in the Nigeria Professional Football League.
The purchase of Aarhus means that the Danish club will become a sister club of Sporting Lagos. Before Shola bought the Danish club, it was in financial trouble.
In its most recent financial report, the club claimed a two-million-kroner (eighty-nine million Naira) loss during the previous two years.
3. Dozy Mmobuosi (Sheffield United)
Dozy Mmobuosi, a Nigerian internet entrepreneur and billionaire, bought Sheffield United, an English football club, for £115 million.
Dozy had hired the world-renowned accounting firm Deloitte to audit and fine-tune his and his company's financials. On the surface, it appears to be positive news for Mmobuosi and Sheffield United.
Sheffield United currently compete in the second division of the English Championship, and they are hoping to get promoted to the English Premier League.
4. Nneka Ede (Lusitano de Évora)
Nneka Ede, a businesswoman, is the sole woman on the list. She owns the Portuguese club Lusitano Ginásio Clube, MHC, also known as Lusitano de Évora.
The club is situated in Évora and competes in the Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth tier of the Portuguese football system.
Mrs Ede's ownership of the 110-year-old Portuguese third-division club began in June 2020.
Soname rewards player with car gift
Earlier, Sports Brief reported Nduka Junior, the captain of Remo Stars has been rewarded with a car as a token of appreciation for his outstanding accomplishments by club owner Kunle Soname.
Kunle Soname delivered the Corolla car and encouraged the 21-year-old to continue to make the squad proud.
Soname, one of Nigeria's wealthiest individuals, expressed satisfaction with Junior's performance, particularly last season, when the club qualified for the CAF Confederations Cup.
Comments