Reports reaching through in the last few hours have confirmed Mrs. Nneka Ede, a Nigerian entrepreneur, the new owner of Lusitano Ginásio Clube, Futebol, SAD (a club-side currently in the third tier of Portuguese football). The Nigerian took over the ownership of the football club last month, according to trusted sources. Nneka Ede’s latest achievement means she is the first African woman to have purchased a European club and only the second Nigerian, after Kunle Soname, to own a European club. 

Mrs Ede felt happy after buying the club and hoped that the move will continue to grow the sporting relationship between Portugal and Nigeria: “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.” 

Lusitano SAD released an official statement confirming the ownership of Mrs Nneka Ede: “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.” 

Lusitano Ginásio Clube (also popularly called Lusitano de Évora) is a Portuguese club-side based in Évora that competes in Serie D of Campeonato de Portugal, the third tier of Portuguese football. The football club was founded 108 years ago by a group of high school and commercial school youngsters. In 1925, it became Lusitano Futebol and finally Lusitano Ginásio Clube. Campo Estrela in Évora situated in Évora is the home ground of the club side. 

Lusitano G.C. in its first-ever campaign in the Primeira Divisão (the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system) finished 7th in 1952/1953 season on the league table. They stayed in Primeira Divisão for 14 consecutive seasons, enjoying their major success in the 1950s and 1960s – Lusitano G.C. highest position in Primeira Divisão is 5th and they achieved this in 1956/1957 campaign, they also semi-finals of the Taça de Portugal two times within this remarkable period of theirs. 

In 1966, Lusitano Ginásio Clube was relegated and since then they never tasted the top-tier league football in Portugal again, even declined further to regional championships.

Lusitano Ginásio Clube Honours till Date 

Second Division National Championship

Titles (1): 1951–52

AF Évora Championship

Titles (13): 1917–18, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1939–40, 1940 –41, 2018-19

Dinis Vital Cup

Titles (3): 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18

European Cup

Titles (2): 2017 and 2019