A Nigerian entrepreneur Nneka Ede has bought a football club based in Portugal, Lusitano Ginásio Clube Futebol SAD.
Mrs Ede completed purchase of the third division club in June, becoming the first African woman to own a club in Europe.
The club said in a statement on Thursday that she took ownership following months of negotiations.
“After months of negotiations with different entities, an agreement has been reached with Mrs Nneka Ede,” the club said, “a sports enthusiast and entrepreneur from Nigeria, a country filled with people as passionate and fiery about football as us and which incidentally share the same green and white in their flags, towards the transfer of the ownership of the SAD to the latter that will help us in our mission to take Lusitano to the next level.”
Ede said she hopes her ownership of the 108-year-old team would provide a pathway for the development of young talents.
“I am excited about this opportunity and I hope that this new chapter will deepen the already great sporting relations between Nigeria and Portugal, continue with the rich history of Lusitano club and provide a pathway for young talent to develop and shine through,” she said.
Ede becomes the second Nigerian to purchase a Portuguese club after businessman Kunle Soname bought Clube Desportivo Feirense in 2015.
Based in Évora, the team was founded on November 11, 1911 and was incorporated as a shareholding firm in 2016.
