Top 10 Africans Who Own Football Clubs

In Summary:

• African investors, from entrepreneurs to artists, increasingly own football clubs across Africa, Europe, and the USA.
• Ownership focuses on youth development, professionalizing operations, and creating talent pathways between continents.
• High-profile owners like Patrice Motsepe, Nassef Sawiris, and Tems demonstrate the continent’s growing influence in global football.
• Investments generate economic impact, enhance club competitiveness, and strengthen Africa’s footprint in international football.

Deep Dive!!

Wednesday, 10 November 2025 – African involvement in global football has grown far beyond the pitch, with an increasing number of players, entrepreneurs, and cultural icons taking ownership stakes in professional clubs. Across the globe, African investors are leveraging their influence to professionalize club operations, establish youth development pathways, and integrate local talent into international football networks. This trend reflects not only the rising financial clout of African business leaders but also a strategic effort to shape football culture and infrastructure across the continent and beyond.

Ownership of football clubs by Africans also highlights the continent’s expanding footprint in one of the world’s most lucrative sports industries. High-profile figures, ranging from mining magnates and tech entrepreneurs to artists are now using their resources to create sustainable club models, enhance scouting networks, and generate cross-continental opportunities for players and staff. These investments provide significant economic impact, foster talent development, and position African stakeholders as influential actors in the global football ecosystem. The following ranking profiles the top ten Africans who have made their mark as club owners, detailing their contributions, investments, and the broader significance of their ventures.

10. Shola Akinlade — Sporting Lagos; Aarhus Fremad
Shola Akinlade, co-founder of Paystack, launched Sporting Lagos as part of a strategy to professionalise Nigerian club football and create a talent pathway to Europe; in March 2023 he completed the acquisition of Danish side Aarhus Fremad as a majority owner, a move widely reported as intended to create two-way development links between Nigeria and Europe. The purchase price for Aarhus Fremad was not publicly disclosed in press coverage, but Akinlade’s profile as a fintech entrepreneur and investor has helped channel private capital and technical governance practices into Sporting Lagos’ operations and youth development plans.

9. Nneka Ede — Lusitano Ginásio Clube (Portugal)
Nigerian entrepreneur Nneka Ede made headlines in 2020 when she acquired Portuguese club Lusitano Ginásio Clube, becoming one of the first Nigerian women reported to own a European club; the acquisition was announced as a 100 percent purchase for an undisclosed amount and positioned Ede as an early example of African private-sector investment into lower-league European teams used as talent and commercial gateways. Her ownership has been framed in media coverage as both symbolic and practical for talent pathways, although detailed financial terms were not released publicly.

8. Samih Sawiris — FC Luzern (Switzerland)
Egyptian industrialist Samih Sawiris has held a material stake in Swiss club FC Luzern since 2011, with reports indicating a roughly 12.5 percent share when he joined the club’s ownership group; his involvement has financed infrastructure and helped professionalise club operations while aligning with his broader European tourism and development investments. Sawiris’s stake is part of a diversified portfolio rather than a standalone football-industry bet, and specific sum disclosures for the Luzern stake have not been published in detail beyond corporate filings and press coverage.

7. Moïse Katumbi — TP Mazembe (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Moïse Katumbi took control of TP Mazembe in the late 1990s and invested heavily to transform the Lubumbashi club into one of Africa’s most successful and commercially capable teams; his private investments funded stadium upgrades, professional staff, player recruitment and continental campaigns that established TP Mazembe as a benchmark for owner-led club development in Africa. The scale of Katumbi’s investment has been described in multiple profiles as substantial and sustained, financed from his mining and trading interests, though granular transaction figures are treated as private.

6. Tems (Temilade Openiyi) — San Diego FC (USA)
Grammy-winning Nigerian artist Temilade Openiyi, known professionally as Tems, joined San Diego FC’s ownership group in early 2025 as a club partner through her company The Leading Vibe; club announcements and music-industry coverage confirm her minority stake, with specific financial terms undisclosed. Tems’ involvement illustrates a new wave of high-profile cultural figures from Africa taking equity roles in top international clubs to broaden cultural outreach, brand partnerships and community engagement rather than to act as majority financial backers.

5. Kunle Soname — Remo Stars (Nigeria); C.D. Feirense (Portugal)
Bet9ja founder Kunle Soname established Remo Stars in Nigeria and expanded into Europe with the acquisition of Portugal’s C.D. Feirense in 2015, creating an explicit development and transfer pipeline between Nigerian talent and European football. Soname’s investments have covered club operations, academy development and cross-border scouting; while the purchase price for Feirense was not publicly disclosed, Soname’s business profile and subsequent funding of Remo Stars demonstrate an owner-led model linking domestic club growth with overseas opportunities.

4. Tunde Folawiyo / Pave Investments — San Diego FC (USA) & strategic sports investments
Tunde Folawiyo, via Pave Investments and its partners, joined the ownership group of MLS expansion side San Diego FC in early 2025 as part of a broader African institutional foray into major-league sports ownership; club statements and press releases confirm Pave’s role as a strategic investor though individual equity stakes and financial terms were not publicly itemised. Folawiyo’s participation exemplifies a trend of African family offices and institutional investors taking minority positions in global clubs to unlock commercial, youth development and cross-market partnership opportunities.

3. Patrice Motsepe — Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
South African mining magnate Patrice Motsepe acquired Mamelodi Sundowns in the early 2000s and has since financed its evolution into one of Africa’s wealthiest and most successful clubs, supporting extensive infrastructure, competitive squads and continental campaigns; Motsepe’s ownership is well documented and his family trust retains control, with Sundowns frequently cited as having one of the highest operating budgets in South African football. Public reporting links Motsepe’s broader business wealth to sustained club investment, though club financial statements present only aggregate budgets rather than single-line owner injections.

2. Naguib Sawiris — ZED FC (Egypt) and ZED Sports investments
Billionaire Naguib Sawiris, through ZED Sports, acquired Egyptian side FC Masr and rebranded it as ZED FC in 2020, committing significant capital to academy infrastructure, training facilities and partnerships (press coverage cited EGP 1.5 billion in launch-phase investment intentions). Sawiris’s strategy centres on academy development, international collaborations (including agreements with Aston Villa and other partners) and creating a professional pathway for Egyptian talent to global markets; the EGP 1.5 billion figure for the initial relaunch was reported in Egyptian press and company statements.

1. Nassef Sawiris — Aston Villa (United Kingdom) and V Sports network
Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris is a principal investor in V Sports, the holding company that owns Premier League side Aston Villa and stakes in other clubs; his position has helped fuel substantial Premier League–level investment in transfer budgets, infrastructure and commercial expansion. Public filings and mainstream coverage document V Sports’ central role in Aston Villa’s funding model, and while private equity terms are commercial-confidential, Sawiris is widely profiled as one of football’s highest-value individual club owners through V Sports.

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