SPORT: Meet Kunle Soname, CEO Bet9ja, The First Nigerian To Own A Football Club In Europe.

SPORT: Meet Kunle Soname, CEO Bet9ja, The First Nigerian To Own A Football Club In Europe.

A Nigerian business mogul and football club owner Kunle Soname is 54 years old, born on April 27, 1966. Soname is the first Nigerian to own a top European football club, Portuguese second division side, Clube Desportivo Feirense.

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He acquired the club through his company called Tavistock Global Resource Limited in 2015, two years after launching Bet9ja. Soname secured 70 percent of the club, which last played in the Portuguese top-flight division in 2011.

Clube Desportivo Feirense, also known as CD Feirense or just Feirense, is a football club in Portugal based in Santa Maria da Feira. Established on 18 March 1918, Feirense competes in the LigaPro, the second tier of Portuguese football, with Kunle Soname as its owner and Filipe Martins as manager. CD Feirense plays its home matches at the Estádio Marcolino de Castro, with a capacity of about 5,500 spectators.

Soname is one of the silent billionaires in Nigeria and has contributed immensely in promoting sports in the country. He owns Remo Star FC, a Nigeria National League team based in Ogun State, Nigeria. 

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Soname is from Remo, Ogun State, located in the Southwestern part of Nigeria. He grew up in Lagos State where he had his secondary education at the Federal Government College and obtained his first degree at Lagos State University (LASU).

Soname ventured into politics and made an impression as a politician. So far, the highest position he has held in politics is the chairmanship of Ikosi-isheri Local Council, Lagos State from October 2003 – October 2011.

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The billionaire is the founder of Bet9ja with a traded name “KC Gaming Networks Limited”. The lottery website is licensed under the Lagos State Lotteries Board. The headquarters of Bet9ja is located in Lagos, Nigeria.

Bet9ja was able to break into the market by introducing offline play which turned out a reliable source of employment for Nigeria youths. Bet9ja has also continued to improve their betting platform by introducing a 100 percent reward for new customers as a stake bonus upon registration, increased the potential winnings for betters to 40 Million, the highest so far in Nigeria and recently included Cash Out option.

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In 2015, Bet9ja became the official sponsor of the Nigeria Women’s Football League (NWFL) after a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two parties. He made former Super Eagles star player Victor Ikpeba the brand ambassador to Bet9ja.

Bet9ja became the official sponsor of the popular reality television show, Big Brother Naija season 4 (Pepper dem).

Based on his near 100 percent stake in KC Gaming Networks Limited, the company that owns Bet9ja, some have calculated that Kunle Soname’s net worth is around $100million. It was reported that the great football lover has an aviation license to own an airline company to be named Value Jet.