World Athletics rejects Favour Ofili’s switch to Turkey
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World Athletics has ruled against Favour Ofili’s attempt to switch her national allegiance from Nigeria to Turkey, rejecting her application alongside those of 10 other foreign athletes.
The decision was made by WA’s Nationality Review Panel, which found that the applications were part of a wider recruitment drive by the Turkish Athletics Federation aimed at attracting overseas athletes.
According to the governing body, the strategy risks undermining the integrity of international athletics by prioritising imported talent over the development of homegrown athletes.
Ofili, 23, initiated the process in 2025 after publicly accusing the Athletics Federation of Nigeria of neglect and administrative failures that affected her career.
She missed the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to Nigeria’s failure to meet mandatory drug-testing requirements on her behalf. A similar administrative lapse also ruled her out of the 100m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics after her name was not submitted in time.
“In its decisions, the panel considered that approval of these applications would impinge upon and compromise the imperatives underlying the World Athletics eligibility rules and transfer of allegiance regulations,” World Athletics wrote in a statement.
“The panel found that the applications formed part of a coordinated recruitment strategy led by the Türkiye government acting through a wholly-owned and financed government club, to attract overseas athletes through lucrative contracts, with the aim of facilitating transfers of allegiance and enabling those athletes to represent Türkiye at future international competitions, including the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
“Given the common features across the applications, the panel assessed them together and determined that such an approach is inconsistent with the core principles of the regulations. These principles are designed to safeguard the credibility of international competition, encourage Member Federations to invest in the development of domestic talent and maintain confidence among athletes that national teams are not primarily assembled through external recruitment.
“As a result of the decisions, the athletes are not eligible to represent Türkiye in national representative competitions or other relevant international events. The panel noted, however, that this does not prevent the athletes from competing in one-day meetings or road races in a personal or club capacity, or from living and training in Türkiye.
“World Athletics’ transfer of allegiance regulations govern the conditions under which an athlete may represent a Member Federation in international competition. While citizenship is a starting point, additional criteria are applied to ensure a genuine connection between the athlete and the country they represent and to protect the integrity, credibility and development of the sport globally.
“The Nationality Review Panel is responsible for determining applications relating to athlete eligibility and transfers of allegiance, in accordance with these regulations.”
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