AFCON 2025
World Athletics has denied Favour Ofili’s switch of sporting nationality from Nigeria to Türkey.
In its decision, World Athletics explains that approving the transfer would compromise key Council imperatives.
These include protecting the credibility of national representative competitions and preventing the systematic recruitment of overseas athletes for Olympic representation.
World Athletics reviewed Ofili’s case, along with 11 other applications submitted by the Türkiye Athletics Federation.
The body determined that all 11 applications form part of a government-led recruitment strategy designed to strengthen Türkiye’s teams ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Although Ofili has received Turkish citizenship and signed a lucrative club contract, she remains ineligible to represent Türkiye in National Representative Competitions such as the World Championships or Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, Favour Ofili may still compete in one-day meetings, either personally or in a club capacity.
World Athletics may reconsider its decision, and Ofili could file an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Favour Ofili’s move to switch from Turkey to Nigeria stems from a 2021 and 2024 incident where he missed the entire Tokyo Olympics.
In 2024, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria failed to enter her for the 100m event even though she had qualified.
Favour Ofili won medals representing Nigeria at different levels including the African Youth Games, African Youth Championships, World Under-20 Championship, African Games and the Commonwealth Games.
