World Athletics rejects Ofili's Turkey switch, cites mercenary motives

World Athletics rejected Favour Ofili's application to change her sporting nationality from Nigeria to Turkey, citing concerns that the Turkish Athletics Federation was aggressively recruiting foreign athletes for largely mercenary motives. The decision, announced Thursday by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, followed a review by World Athletics's nationality panel. Ofili had been pursuing the switch since 2025 after publicly accusing Nigerian officials of mismanaging her career progression.

Ofili holds Nigeria's women's 200m record at 21.96 seconds and a personal best of 10.78 seconds in the 100m, performances she achieved in 2022. As one of the nation's top sprint prospects, her blocked transfer underscores the tension between athletes and Nigerian sports administrators over alleged neglect and mismanagement. It also highlights World Athletics's warning that such nationality switches threaten the credibility of international competition, weaken national development systems, and risk sidelining homegrown athletes in favour of imported talent.

The ruling means Ofili must remain eligible for Nigeria unless she pursues another nationality change that meets stricter scrutiny. For Nigeria, the case prompts a conversation about how to better support athletes—through timely payments, adequate training facilities, and transparent governance—to reduce the lure of foreign offers. What steps should Nigerian sports authorities take to retain talents like Ofili, and should athletes be allowed to switch nationality freely or need tighter rules?

SOURCE: https://www.channelstv.com/2026/04/16/world-athletics-rejects-favour-ofilis-switch-to-turkey/