The Author
My name is Segun. My friends call me Big SegAds Corner
Kunle Soname - a model of ‘football-preneurship’.
The following great Nigerians had one thing in common - they were sole owners of big football clubs in Nigeria at a time when the game was neither professional nor considered a business in Nigeria:
Chief Israel Adebajo, Stationery Stores FC of Lagos; Chief MKO Abiola, Abiola Babes FC, Abeokuta; Chief Emmanuel Iwuayanwu, Iwuayanwu National FC, Owerri; Alhaji Isyaku Ibrahim, Mighty Jets of Jos; Chief Patrick Osakwe, Flash Flamingoes FC of Benin; Alhaji Muktar Muhammed Aruwa, Ranchers Bees FC of Kaduna. There were a few others.
The commonality across all of the clubs were that none of them was run as a business for profit, all were a one-way financial drain-pipe, and none survived in its original form today. They all ‘died’ from financial asphyxiation.
Then comes along Kunle Soname some years after the last of the pioneer-private clubs disappeared from the radar. Kunle set up a private club and has been nurturing it through the years, slowly but steadily. It is now a model professional, private football club in Nigeria.
Remo Stars FC, Ikenne, are the current NPFL champions, and have some of the best facilities, infrastructure, players welfare packages, management and programmes in Nigerian football. Yet, compared to what exists in some other climes a lot still needs to be done!
3 weeks ago, Remo Stars FC lost at home to Mamelodi Sundowns FC of South Africa. The match showed a yawning gap between the levels of football in both countries. Kunle has since then expressed strong views on the challenges of running a proper professional club as a business in Nigeria.
For the benefit of all those in the football ‘business’, all stakeholders in the game, and those managing football in the country, Kunle Soname shall be my guest this weekend to provide valuable insight into his story and experiences. He will also be throwing some light on the future of professional football in the country.
Join us on ‘90 minutes with Mathematical’ from 7:30 AM this Saturday, November 8, 2025, on Eagle 7 Sports Radio 103.7 FM Abeokuta, as the Billionaire businessman shares his experiences and answers the million-Dollar question: ‘Can the football business succeed in Nigeria?’ Can Nigerian football ever catch up with the leagues of Europe and other places?
To follow, listen or watch online just click on this eagle7fm.com/ from 7:30 AM and be connected.
Dr. Olusegun Odegbami MON, OLY, AFNIIA, FNIS, GS Ambassador.
The following great Nigerians had one thing in common - they were sole owners of big football clubs in Nigeria at a time when the game was neither professional nor considered a business in Nigeria:
Chief Israel Adebajo, Stationery Stores FC of Lagos; Chief MKO Abiola, Abiola Babes FC, Abeokuta; Chief Emmanuel Iwuayanwu, Iwuayanwu National FC, Owerri; Alhaji Isyaku Ibrahim, Mighty Jets of Jos; Chief Patrick Osakwe, Flash Flamingoes FC of Benin; Alhaji Muktar Muhammed Aruwa, Ranchers Bees FC of Kaduna. There were a few others.
The commonality across all of the clubs were that none of them was run as a business for profit, all were a one-way financial drain-pipe, and none survived in its original form today. They all ‘died’ from financial asphyxiation.
Then comes along Kunle Soname some years after the last of the pioneer-private clubs disappeared from the radar. Kunle set up a private club and has been nurturing it through the years, slowly but steadily. It is now a model professional, private football club in Nigeria.
Remo Stars FC, Ikenne, are the current NPFL champions, and have some of the best facilities, infrastructure, players welfare packages, management and programmes in Nigerian football. Yet, compared to what exists in some other climes a lot still needs to be done!
3 weeks ago, Remo Stars FC lost at home to Mamelodi Sundowns FC of South Africa. The match showed a yawning gap between the levels of football in both countries. Kunle has since then expressed strong views on the challenges of running a proper professional club as a business in Nigeria.
For the benefit of all those in the football ‘business’, all stakeholders in the game, and those managing football in the country, Kunle Soname shall be my guest this weekend to provide valuable insight into his story and experiences. He will also be throwing some light on the future of professional football in the country.
Join us on ‘90 minutes with Mathematical’ from 7:30 AM this Saturday, November 8, 2025, on Eagle 7 Sports Radio 103.7 FM Abeokuta, as the Billionaire businessman shares his experiences and answers the million-Dollar question: ‘Can the football business succeed in Nigeria?’ Can Nigerian football ever catch up with the leagues of Europe and other places?
To follow, listen or watch online just click on this eagle7fm.com/ from 7:30 AM and be connected.
Dr. Olusegun Odegbami MON, OLY, AFNIIA, FNIS, GS Ambassador.
