World Athletics Rejects Favour Ofili’s Allegiance Switch From Nigeria To Turkey

World Athletics has rejected the request by Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili to change her sporting nationality from Nigeria to Turkey.

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) confirmed the decision in a statement released on Thursday.

According to World Athletics, its review panel turned down the application because it was linked to efforts by the Turkish Athletics Federation to “induce recruited athletes to switch nationality abruptly and primarily for mercenary reasons.”

Favour Ofili was among 11 foreign athletes whose requests were presented by Turkey for approval.

In its ruling, WA explained that such recruitment practices weaken fair competition, discourage countries from building their own athletes, and could lead to an overreliance on imported talent instead of local development.

Ofili had started the process of switching allegiance in 2025 after expressing frustration over how her career was handled by Nigerian sports authorities.

Her issues with Nigerian athletics include missing the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to administrative problems related to drug-testing communication requirements.

She also missed the women’s 100m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics after Nigeria’s athletics authorities failed to submit her name on time, another administrative error that prevented her participation.

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