AFN Welcomes Ofili Back to Fold After World Athletics Rejects Her Switch to Türkiye

 *Ogba describes the decision as justice for developing countries

Duro Ikhazuagbe 

Following the rejection of plans by sprinter  Favour Ofili and 10 others to switch their nationalities to Turkiye by the World Athletics, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria has officially welcomed the sprint sensation back into its fold.

The decision by WA to reject the switch of the Ofili and 10 other athletes (1 Nigerian, 5 Kenyans, 4 Jamaicans and 1 Russian), followed a review of the  applications submitted by the Türkiye Athletics Federation, all linked to a government-backed recruitment drive ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

But in what appears a reconciliation move for a fresh chapter in the relationship between the athlete and the federation, AFN President,  Tonobok Okowa, yesterday expressed delight over Ofili’s return, emphasizing the need for unity and encouragement around one of Nigeria’s brightest track talents.

According to Okowa, the focus now should be on providing the right environment for the 100m and 200m star to thrive, stressing that what she needs most from stakeholders is “love, support, encouragement and more love.”

The federation’s stance comes at a crucial time for Nigerian athletics, as it looks to rebuild trust and strengthen its athlete relations ahead of major international competitions.

Ofili’s return is expected to boost Nigeria’s sprint prospects, with the AFN hopeful that renewed backing from officials, fans, and the athletics community will help her reach her full potential on the global stage.

In reaching the decision to stop the 11 athletes from switching to Turkiye, World Athletics ruled that the transfer was part of a wider strategy to recruit foreign athletes with lucrative contracts, which:

• Undermines the integrity of national competitions;  • Discourages countries from developing homegrown talent;  • Risks replacing local athletes with imported competitors

Despite considering her personal situation, including her participation at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with Nigeria, the panel concluded that approving the move would compromise these core principles.

Ofili remains eligible to compete for Nigeria but cannot represent Türkiye in international events.

In his reaction, former AFN President and now 1st Vice President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, Chief Solomon Ogba,  described the decision by World Athletics as justice not just for Team Nigeria but for many developing countries that sweat day and night to develop athletes, only for those athletes to be snatched by other countries because of their economic power.

 “I want to specially thank the President of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, a true friend of developing countries, members of the panel and the World Athletics family for standing with the truth. 

“How can a country give an athlete the opportunity for his or her talent to blossom from primary school, to secondary school and to the collegiate level, then a country that doesn’t believe in the athlete when he or she is just a potential, come with bags full of money and snatch the athlete? It’s unfair, its unjust and should be discouraged,” observed the former AFN chief.

Ogba urged athletes to be focused and more committed to their careers. 

“Usain Bolt did not need to change allegiance before he became one of the very best in athletics, Julien Alfred did not dump Saint Lucia, Eliud Kipchoge is the greatest marathoner of all time, he is still wearing the colours of Kenya.’’

He urged athletes to be wary of managers, coaches and friends who usually push them to make decisions that will have a negative impact on their career.

However, despite the WA decision and the olive branch extended to her, insiders in track and field insisted last night that Ofili is not likely to accept to return to race for Nigeria again when viewed from the backdrop of what she suffered at both the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Ofili was one of the nine Nigerian athletes who were refused participation at the Tokyo Games because of the negligence of the AFN to conduct three out of competition tests pre-Olympics. 

At Paris 2024, Ofili was not entered to run the women’s 100m that she qualified for. Attempts to get to the roots of the matter failed to yield any positive result. Ofili was engaged in a messy back and forth with the AFN leadership, leading to her dumping Nigeria for Turkiye. 

Against the pittance $5,000 training grant given to her by Nigerian sports authorities, it was reported that Ofili has secured a $500,000 contract with a Turkish track club. Now that WA has denied her switch, track insiders further hinted that all that she needs to do is stay the mandatory three years without competing for any country to be eligible to reapply for switch. If she opts for this as Plan B, there is the likelihood that she will only miss the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games before becoming eligible to run for any country of her choice.

In the interim, Ofili is free to compete and earn money in the Diamond League circuit to keep her busy.