When one thinks of Shola Akinlade, the name often conjures fintech prowess—co-founder and CEO of Paystack, a company that transformed the payments landscape across Africa and was acquired by Stripe for over US$200 million in 2020. Yet, in an inspired pivot, Akinlade has channelled that energy into football, as a club owner and cultivator of talent, on both home soil and abroad.
The idea took root in 2021, when the death of his father prompted deep reflection. Spending time with his elderly mother, Akinlade found himself pondering the legacy he wanted to leave, confronted with life’s brevity and the urge to build something enduring. He found the answer in football, a passion woven into the fabric of communities. “Football is more than entertainment; it’s identity, it’s opportunity,” he reflected.
Thus, in early 2022, he launched Sporting Lagos Football Club, based at Onikan Stadium, also known as Mobolaji Johnson Arena, which accommodates roughly 10,000 fans. The club’s first match—a 1–1 draw against Go Round FC, met with enthusiasm and optimism.
But Sporting Lagos is more than a team; it’s a social mission wrapped in vibrant blue and yellow. Akinlade assembled a formidable team of collaborators, sports journalist Colin Udoh, global accelerator leader Fola Olatunji-David, seasoned administrator Godwin Enakhenato shape strategy and bring structure to what might otherwise be a chaotic enterprise. Together they created a club designed to feel like a community, experiment with membership-based engagement, and turn matchdays into more than games, they became carnival-like experiences.
Within a year, Sporting Lagos had already captured a Cup title and earned promotion to the Nigeria Professional Football League. Though their debut season in the top flight proved tough they finished 17th and were relegated—what stands out is the rapid rise and the values underpinning it.
Akinlade’s vision didn’t stop there. In March 2023, he acquired a 55 per cent majority stake in Denmark’s Aarhus Fremad, a club in the 3rd tier of Danish football. The move was anything but random: it was a strategic extension of Sporting Lagos’s mission. It offers a pipeline for promising Nigerian talents—an opportunity to train, compete and flourish in Europe.
Business-minded voices lauded it as a canny model: “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 €2 million–€5 million a piece. It’s like printing money.” Indeed, this mirrors the proven Ghana-to-Europe model of clubs like FC Nordsjælland, which discovered and developed players like Mohammed Kudus. Both clubs now share governance values—a commitment to community development, mutual growth and talent advancement. As Akinlade put it: the partnership fosters “education, growth and opportunity for our players and the community at large”.
More than just institutional ties, there’s a sense this is about legacy. By blending his tech heritage—innovation, accountability, infrastructure—with football, Akinlade is crafting a new paradigm: a holistic, cross-continental model that ties youth development, community building and commercial potential together.
This dual venture has not gone unnoticed. In 2022, he was awarded the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) in recognition of his contributions to Nigeria’s tech and social spheres. It is no small honour, signalling national acknowledgement of efforts that bridge sectors.
At its heart, Akinlade’s journey speaks to purpose—not fame or financial gain, but to transforming systems. It speaks to a founder who, after an exit that placed him atop Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, chose to reinvest in dreams rather than luxury. He chose infrastructure over indulgence. He chose community over vanity.
In less than four years, he’s built a club, made real promises of advancement, and truly intertwined African ambition with European opportunity. From the vibrant terraces of Lagos to the tactical fields of Denmark, Shola Akinlade is constructing a footballing bridge—a model that honours his roots while widening horizons for a generation of athletes.
