THE Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has responded to reports of sprinter Favour Ofili intending to switch her international allegiance to Turkey, describing the move as a shock to the system.
Reports emerged over the weekend that Ofili, an elile women’s 100m and 200m athlete, had applied to World Athletics to change her nationality from Nigerian to Turkish.
The 22-year-old Olympic finalist cited the AFN’s actions for her decision.
The Nigerian athletics body had caused Ofili and 13 other athletes from the country to miss out on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by not funding enough doping control tests.
Also, Ofili was inexplicably not registered for the 100m at the Paris Olympics in 2024 despite qualifying for the event, leaving her with only the 200m, in which she reached the final and finished sixth.
AFN President Tonobok Okowa told journalists that the body was not notified by the athlete before she applied for the switch on May 31.
“Just like every other sports-loving person in Nigeria, on the continent and beyond, I and the newly elected board read and heard her desire to change nationality from the media,” Okowa said. “If this is true, it is sad, disheartening and painful.”
Okowa added that the AFN had not been imformed of Ofili’s application by World Athletics, noting that the Tokyo 2020 crisis was before he took office.
“The preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics had been planned and concluded by the former board and the Sports Ministry, in association with the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC). We had no hand in the whole affair and build-up to the Games,” he said.
“Look at the number of tests the AFN conducted under my watch — we funded 60 percent of the tests carried out before the Paris Games.
“There were no doping violations or anything of the sort.”
Okowa revealed that Ofili had already received her training grant for the year, which Okowa believes shows his administration’s commitment to supporting her and other athletics.
“She is a promising athlete with huge potential,” Okowa said. “She has prevented the federation from reaching her, and all efforts to heal the wounds caused by the 100m Paris Olympic Games omission have proved abortive.
“From the moves we have been making to get her fully prepared and back to the big athletics family and her response, it’s also clear that she had been preparing and working on her new-found Turkish love.
“She is old enough to decide what’s best for her, but it is painful and hard to take for us. However, we will not stop her. She is still our child, sister and daughter.”
Okowa made it clear that the AFN would not stop Ofili from getting her wish.
He said: “Lots of Athletics Federation of Nigeria officials are heartbroken about the matter, but they will not oppose Ofili’s wish to change her colours.”
Meanwhile, AFN officials accused Ofili of being ‘difficult to deal with’.
“Despite our own inadequacies, on several occasions she shunned the national trials and even when she came, she selected the events she preferred to compete in,” an AFN statement said.
The statement also alleged that at the 2024 African Championships in Cameroon, Ofili withdrew from the 100m after participating in the heats, citing poor competition conditions, while she also failed to appear for the last African Games in Accra, Ghana.
“No doubt Ofili is one of our best athletes in recent times, but she is difficult to deal with,” the federation said.
“We wish her well in whatever she is doing and wherever she is going.”
If Ofili succeeds in her application (she is still listed as Nigerian by World Athletics), she might have to miss the next two World Athletics Championships in 2025 and 2027.
Under Rule 4.4.2 of the World Athletics Eligibility Rules, an athlete who has previously represented a country in a National Representative or Other Relevant Competition, such as the Olympics, must observe a three-year waiting period before being eligible to compete for a new country.
Since Ofili competed for Nigeria at the Paris Olympics in 2024, her switch to Turkey will not be recognized until at least 2028, unless a waiver is granted, which may be considered in “exceptional circumstances.”