Nigerian sprint sensation Favour Ofili has reportedly switched her international allegiance to Turkey, a move believed to be driven by longstanding frustrations with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) rather than financial incentives.
Okay.ng reports that the switch, which reportedly took effect from May 31, was confirmed by sources close to the matter via TvjNewscentre, a Jamaican news outlet.
Veteran sports journalist Kenny Raynor disclosed that the 22-year-old informed the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of her decision, outlining a history of administrative negligence by Nigerian athletics officials that severely affected her career.
Ofili, who boasts impressive personal bests of 10.93 seconds in the 100m and 21.96 seconds in the 200m, cited two major setbacks in particular.
She missed the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to Nigeria’s failure to meet mandatory anti-doping compliance protocols, a scandal that disqualified ten athletes, including herself, and brought global embarrassment to Nigeria.
Her disillusionment reportedly deepened after being excluded from the 100m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics, which she attributed to another administrative blunder by the AFN.
While she competed in the 200m final and finished sixth, the omission from her preferred event added to her mounting grievances.
Despite a federal investigation recommending that Ofili be compensated with $5,000 and issued a formal apology, neither action was carried out.
Although Rita Mordi, the then AFN Secretary, was redeployed following her indictment in the report, Samuel Onikeku, the federation’s Technical Director who was also named in the findings, has since returned to the AFN board, albeit in a different capacity.
As of June 22, World Athletics still lists Ofili as representing Nigeria, and the AFN has yet to officially respond to news of her reported switch.
Under World Athletics Rule 4.4.2, an athlete who has competed in international competitions such as the Olympics must observe a three-year waiting period before representing a new country.
Since Ofili ran for Nigeria at Paris 2024, this means she would be ineligible to represent Turkey at the World Championships in Tokyo (2025) and possibly beyond—unless granted an exemption.
However, under Rule 4.6, exceptions can be made in “exceptional circumstances”, including cases of systemic mismanagement or personal hardship directly resulting from the athlete’s former federation.
If the Turkish Athletics Federation can demonstrate that Ofili’s decision was driven by such factors and that she has a “genuine and credible connection” to Turkey, a waiver may be granted.
These exemptions, however, are rare and require substantial documentation and review by the World Athletics Nationality Review Panel.
