Ofili still ‘Nigerian athlete’ on World Athletics website despite rumoured Turkey switch

Favour Ofili is still listed as a Nigerian athlete on the website of the World Athletics (WA) despite a rumoured allegiance switch to Turkey. 

On Sunday, reports circulated on social media that the 22-year-old sprinter has written to the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for a change of nationality.

According to the reports, the 150-meter world record holder cited the frustration she suffered at the hands of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) in recent international competitions as reasons for the switch.

Attempts to reach AFN to confirm the report proved abortive. Ofili is also yet to reply to messages seeking clarification.

However, a check by TheCable on the WA website as of June 22 shows that Ofili remains a Nigerian athlete according to the global athletics governing body.

Rule 4.4.2 of the WA eligibility rules states that for an athlete to switch allegiance to a new country after previously representing another country at international competitions, they must observe a mandatory waiting period of three years from the time they last represented their previous country.

Ofili represented Nigeria at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her performance was impacted by the omission of her name from the women’s race by the AFN after she had qualified for the event. She would eventually participate in the women’s 200m, where she reached the final and finished sixth.

Ofili was among the ten Nigerian athletes who missed the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to AFN’s failure to meet mandatory anti-doping requirements.

Ofili’s rumoured switch is not the first time an athlete has defected from Nigeria to another country due to frustration with the AFN.

Gloria Alozie, Francis Obikwelu, and Femi Ogunode switched from Nigeria to Spain, Portugal and Bahrain, respectively, in the 2000s.

The latest was Annette Echikunwoke, who switched to the US and won silver in the women’s hammer throw at the Paris Olympics.