By Stanley Ugagbe
AGAIN, another Nigerian has made history to add to the growing list of Nigerians making indelible marks at the International frontiers. Business mogul, Nneka Ede has emerged the first African woman to own a European football club after she pulled off a deal recently enabling her to own the 108-year-old Lusitano Ginásio Clube that is participating in Campeonato de Portugal (the Portuguese third division).
The club confirmed the development in a statement made available to newsmen. The statement said: “After months of negotiations with different entities, an agreement has been reached with Mrs Nneka Ede, 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.”
The history maker expressed her overwhelming excitement to start a new chapter with the club emphasizing the existence of a very deep and long-term sporting relationship between Nigeria and Portugal.
She said “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.”
Nneka becomes the second Nigerian to purchase a Portuguese club after businessman Kunle Soname bought Clube Desportivo Feirense in 2015.
The Nigerian Canadian News gathered that the club was founded on November 11, 1911 by a group of high school and commercial school youngsters.
The club competed in Portugal’s topflight for the first time in the 1952–53 season finishing up 7th. It enjoyed a relatively successful period in the 1950s and 1960s and spent 14 consecutive seasons in the Primeira Divisão earning an impressive 5th place in 1956/57, and reaching the semi-finals of the Taça de Portugal twice.
Unfortunately, they were relegated in 1966 and have never competed in Portugal’s top flight ever since but they hold a proud record of being in the top 30 of teams with the most presences in the Portuguese topflight.
