Nigerian sprinter and Commonwealth Games silver medallist, Favour Ofili, has reportedly switched her sporting allegiance to Turkey, just months before the 2025 World Athletics Championships slated for Tokyo.
The development was announced by Jamaican journalist Kayon Raynor, who disclosed that Ofili’s request to change nationality took effect from May 31, 2025, following formal notification to the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). According to Raynor, “Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili has switched allegiance to Turkey as of May 31, 2025. According to impeccable TVJ News centre sources, 22-year-old Ofili has advised the Athletics Integrity Unit of her frustration with the Nigerian Athletics Federation,” he posted via X.
Ofili, 22, cited years of administrative failures by Nigerian athletics officials as the main reason behind her decision to leave. In her letter to the AIU, she reportedly referenced two key grievances that influenced her move.
The first stems from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, where she and nine other Nigerian athletes were disqualified after the country failed to meet mandatory anti-doping protocols required by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Her second major grievance was the painful experience at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Despite meeting the qualification standard for the women’s 100m event, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Nigeria Olympic Committee allegedly failed to properly register her for the race. As a result, she was denied the opportunity to compete in her preferred event and was instead entered for the 200m, where she finished sixth in the final.
Ofili, a two-time NCAA champion with personal bests of 10.93 seconds in the 100m and 21.96 seconds in the 200m, has been widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s brightest medal prospects for the upcoming World Championships scheduled for September 13–21 in Tokyo.
Interestingly, sources close to the athlete insist that her nationality switch was not driven by financial incentives. “It’s further understood that Ofili impressed upon the AIU that her switch to Turkey was not for financial reasons,” Raynor clarified.
However, this switch occurs at a time when Turkey is aggressively recruiting top-level athletes from other countries, reportedly offering as much as $500,000 to those willing to compete under its flag. Several Jamaican athletes are also said to have been approached as part of this campaign.
Ofili’s decision has now added her name to the long list of elite Nigerian athletes who switched allegiance. Others who took similar steps include Francis Obikwelu (Portugal), Gloria Alozie (Spain), Florence Ekpo-Umoh (Germany) Salwa Eid Naser (Bahrain) and Femi Ogunode (Qatar).
Despite her switch, World Athletics has yet to officially update Ofili’s profile on its website, where she is still listed as representing Nigeria.
