- Akinlade said his father's death in 2021 inspired the “commitment to deepen my involvement in our community”.
- The club’s governing body will be led by Ekene Agu, a Paystack employee, Colin Udoh, a former Super Eagles media officer, and Fola Olatuniji-David, a Google employee.
- The Lagos-based side will also play its first game in the Nigerian National League second division on Feb. 12 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, Nigeria.
African fintech mogul and co-founder of Paystack, Shola Akinlade, has established a football club, Sporting Lagos Football Club, as part of a community project that he believes will nurture the next generation of Nigerian sporting talent.
With famous names like Godwin Enakhena, CEO of Global Media, who will serve as the club’s chairman, and Uzo Okonkwo, involved, the club’s governing body will be led by Ekene Agu, a Paystack employee, Colin Udoh, a former Super Eagles media officer, and Fola Olatuniji-David, a Google employee.
Speaking on the establishment of the Sporting Lagos Football Club, Akinlade explained that the platform aligns with the movement to harness football’s transformative power to bring together people from all walks of life and create economic opportunities on a large scale.
According to him, “in the last few years, several platforms have emerged to provide opportunities for young Nigerians to perform at the highest level of excellence. Young Nigerians came together to turn technology, music, and cinema into hugely successful industries that command global attention, and we've built flourishing ecosystems around these platforms that benefit millions of people. In sports as well, we have a long history of individual Nigerians using football - and sports in general - as a platform to ascend to global recognition.”
Akinlade added that he would remain fully focused on Paystack and building payments infrastructure for Africa. “I’ll provide most of the financial investment necessary to get this off the ground and will entrust the full-time team to realise our bold ambitions,” he said.
Speaking on the club’s ambition, Enakhena said the team’s spell in the Nigerian second division would not be more than a season before joining the top teams in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).
“I don’t see myself as someone that wants to run an NNL team, we tried our best to get an NPFL team, but it didn’t work out. We are an NNL team for now, but we will not spend more than one season in the second division,” he said.
The Lagos-based side is set to play its first game in the Nigerian National League second division on Feb. 12 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, Nigeria, with ambitions to advance to the national league’s first division in the coming years. The club has also invited the general public to support the establishment by becoming Founding Members at a one-time fee of NGN 50,000 (or ~$100).
By Victor Oluwole
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