Table of Contents
- African women with Football clubs in Europe are an inspiration to many people
- They are all from West Africa and were exposed to football while young
- They paid huge sums to own these football clubs
The list of African women with Football clubs in Europe is intriguing. They inspired Nigerian Afrobeats star Tems to buy a huge stake in San Diego FC in the US.
San Diego plays in the MLS league. Just like the “Me & U” hitmaker, these African women invested in Europe to satisfy their love for football. Their passion for football was inspired by people close to them, as they reveal. For Tems, an Economics graduate from Mosah University South Africa, her brother fueled her love for football.
Are There African Women with Football Clubs in Europe?
These are the women from the African continent who have invested massively by buying football clubs in Europe.
1. Eniola Aluko
Retired Nigerian international Eniola Aluko is a co-owner of FC Como in Italy. She bought a stake in the club in 2024. She played for England before retiring. Photo/BBC
The retired Nigerian international is a co-owner of Como, a women’s football team in Italy. She is the most famous among African women with football clubs abroad. She played for England during her heydays and decided to invest her football earnings in the Italian women’s team.
She acquired a major stake in the club’s ownership in 2024. According to news reports, she invested $100 million into Mercury 13, an investment group that owns Como FC to own a majority stake. Football has been her life since she left Nigeria as a child and eventually played for the Lionesses.
Her ownership of Como was driven by the hope and need to rewrite the narrative about women’s football and attract bigger audiences and more investors into women’s football. Aluko is presently engaged with Angel City and Aston Villa as a sporting director.
2. Akosua Puni Essien
Michael Essien’s wife, Akosua Puni Essien bought Italian football club Como in 2017. Photo/Brila.net
Akosua Puni Essien is the wife of Michael Essien, a retired Ghanaian footballer who played for Chelsea. She made history among African Women with Football Clubs in Europe by buying a third-division Italian club, FC Como, in 2017. She bought it at an auction in Italy for 237,000 euros.
FC Como went bankrupt after a long series of financial challenges. Akosua Puni was the highest bidder out of the 30 bidders present at the auction. Her bid won, and she finally took ownership of the century-old club. She is renamed this coming
She is the brains behind its renaming as FC Como. Puni beats the records the become the first Ghanaian woman to buy a European club. Big names who attended matches during her ownership include Paolo Rossi and Marco Tardelli, two FIFA World Cup stars in 1982. Giancula Zambrotta, currently playing for Azzurri and Lazio midfielder, credit their success in football to Como’s youth academy.
3. Nneka Ede
UK-born Nigerian footballer Nneka Ede spread her love for football to South America. She joined African women with football clubs in Europe in 2020 after purchasing the third division Portuguese club Lusitano Ginasio Club Futebol SAD.
Ede played professional football in England. Although she was born in the UK to Nigerian parents, she always yearned to have a full identity as a Nigerian. Most Nigerians couldn’t believe it when she tried out for the Nigerian senior women’s national team.
She got a 100% stake of Lusitano Ginasio Club Futebol SAD – a 100-year club. Her decision to buy the club was informed by the need to better football relations between Portugal and Nigeria while giving young, talented players a chance to hone their football skills.
