A website claiming to represent a foundation created in memory of footballer Diogo Jota has vanished after allegations surfaced that it had no links to Jota’s family or Liverpool FC.
The Diogo Jota Foundation, launched on July 6—just three days after the striker’s reported death—claimed it had collected $64,250 (£47,715) in donations through its website, diogojotafoundation.org.
The site’s homepage stated that the foundation aimed to “Honor the Legacy of Diogo Jota” by supporting youth in Gondomar and beyond through football, education, and hope. It also claimed to have provided 25,000 meals, sponsored 300 children’s education, and formed 50 partnerships.
According to the foundation, it was founded in 2025 to celebrate Jota’s rise from a small academy in Gondomar to becoming a respected footballer in Europe.
However, a Telegraph investigation has brought the foundation’s legitimacy into question. Liverpool FC and Jota’s family told the outlet they had no knowledge of the foundation or the website, and the Charity Commission confirmed the organization never applied for registration.
The website featured logos from Liverpool FC, Allianz, Unicef, and the Portuguese Platform of Development NGOs—though three of those entities have since denied any association with the group.
Allianz UK issued a statement confirming it had no partnership with the foundation, that its logo was used without permission, and that steps were being taken to shut the site down. It also warned that misuse of branding by fraudsters to mislead the public is a common problem online.
Additionally, the foundation only accepted cryptocurrency payments, directing donors to a third-party site to pay in USDT, ETH, and other crypto via NOWPayments.
However, NOWPayments CEO Kate Lifshits said no payments had been processed for the foundation. She confirmed that as soon as they were made aware of potential fraud, they cut off services to the project immediately.
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