Shola Akinlade, the co-founder and CEO of Paystack bought a 55 percent stake in Aarhus Fremad, a team that plays in the Danish 2nd Division, the third tier of the Danish football league system club.
Although making the purchase after the club’s several years with a deficit, Akinlade, at the age of 38, now owns the largest stake in two football investments, Sporting Lagos in Nigeria and Aarhus Fremad, Denmark.
The move consolidates Akinlade’s efforts to use grassroots football for community development and social change in Nigeria.
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Aarhus Fremad currently leads the 2nd division and is a hot bet for a promotion to the country’s second-best tier and with the takeover, some of the players from Sporting Lagos will have the opportunity to come to Europe.
Nigerians took to Twitter to air their opinion on this development.
“This is an excellent business move. Identify young talents at the Sporting Lagos academy, send the best to get polished for 2 or 3 years in Denmark, then sell them for €2m – €5m a piece to clubs in Belgium, Netherlands, or Turkey. It’s like printing money,” David Hundeyin tweeted.
“We now have a sister club,” Sporting Lagos tweeted.
Similarly, Aarhus Fremad tweeted: “Hey, @SportingLagos, We are extremely happy to welcome you into our family, and we can’t wait to get started on our cooperation, see you soon.”
Nonso, with the handle ‘@midasnonso’ also tweeted his opinion: “This guy is really investing big in soccer. @SportingLagos his pet project is a big deal. I can only wish him big success.”
On April 1, 2023, Aarhus Fremad will play its next match against Brabrand.
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