Diogo Jota Foundation Vanishes After Collecting Over ₦100 Million Donations, Family Is Clueless
- A Diogo Jota Foundation website that raised nearly ₦100 million in donations has suddenly disappeared
- Jota’s family insists they did not know the website or the organisation in charge of the now-disappeared website
- Major charities listed on the disappeared website have denied any affiliation with the organisation
Diogo Jota Foundation, a website claiming to honour the late Liverpool star, vanished after collecting over ₦100 million (approximately £47,715) in donations, leaving the football world and the late Liverpool striker’s family stunned.
The foundation, which operated under the domain diogojotafoundation.org, was reportedly established after the deaths of Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva.
Source: Getty Images
The organisation presented itself as a charitable initiative but has now been exposed as an alleged scam with no ties to Jota’s grieving family or Liverpool Football Club.
Attempts to access the site now return a blank grey page, raising alarm among donors who believed they were supporting a legitimate cause.
According to The Telegraph, the website displayed logos of organisations such as UNICEF, Allianz, and the Portuguese Platform of Development NGOs, but at least three of them have confirmed they had no connection with the supposed charity.
Family denies knowledge of scam website
The Jota family, already devastated by the tragic deaths of the Liverpool forward and his younger brother Andre Silva, were shocked to discover that such a foundation even existed, Daily Mail reports.
Source: Getty Images
Family members confirmed they did not know the website or its fundraising activities, stressing that they had never authorised such a project in the player’s name.
The UK Charity Commission has also weighed in, confirming that the Diogo Jota Foundation has not submitted any official registration application.
This revelation casts further doubt on the project's authenticity, raising questions about how so many unsuspecting fans were misled.
Adding to the suspicion, the foundation encouraged donations via cryptocurrency payments, allegedly through NOWPayments.
However, Kate Lifshits, CEO of NOWPayments, denied any involvement, stating that the platform had not processed a single payment for the so-called foundation and cut ties immediately upon learning of the situation.
A legacy tarnished amid tragedy
Jota’s sudden death in a Lamborghini crash came just 11 days after he had married his long-term partner, Rute Cardoso, and the couple has three children together.
His passing sent shockwaves through the football community, with Liverpool FC announcing plans to honour his legacy through the LFC Foundation, which will launch a grassroots football programme in his name.
The fake foundation, however, has cast a shadow over these genuine efforts to memorialise the striker.
Fans, who thought they were contributing to a noble cause, are now demanding accountability as over ₦100 million appears to have vanished without a trace.
Sad details of Jota’s death emerges
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that initial reports from Spanish authorities stated that the crash took place at approximately 12:40 am along the A-52 motorway, around 70 miles west of Valladolid.
The Lamborghini, which Jota was driving, was overtaking another vehicle when one of its tyres suddenly blew out. This critical failure caused the car to lose balance, spin out of control, and exit the road at high speed before colliding with roadside barriers.
Source: Legit.ng
