One of Nigeria’s top female athletes, Favour Ofili has switched allegiance to Turkey and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) says it is shocked by the news.
The President of AFN, Tonobok Okowa said on Sunday that, just like every other sports loving person in Nigeria, on the continent and beyond that he and his newly elected board read and heard her desire to change nationality from the media.
He said, “If this is true, it is sad, disheartening and painful but we are yet to get any official statement from her or any correspondence from World Athletics (WA), on her request. She is a promising athlete with huge potential.
“The AFN and the National Sports Commission (NSC) have been working hard to get athletics and other sports in the country back on track and to show that both bodies are matching goals, objectives and words with action, Favour had already been paid her training grant for this year,” Okowa said.
Okowa added that the 22 year old athlete has prevented the Federation from reaching her and that all efforts to heal the wounds caused by 100m Paris Olympic Games omission has proved abortive.
“From the moves we have been making to get her fully prepared and back to the big athletics family and her response, it’s also clear that she had been preparing and working on her new found Turkish love. She is old enough to decide what’s best for her but it painful and hard to take for us, however we will not stop her, she is still our child, sister and daughter.
“We want to apologize to Nigerians, the National Sports Commission and the millions of people around the world who hold the sport and country in high esteem for this sad development.”
Ofili and the AFN have had a lot issues in the past few years
At the 2024 African Championships in Cameroon she refused to compete in the 100m after running in the heats, claiming that the organisers did not provide the right atmosphere for competition.
She also did not turn up for the last Africa Games in Accra, Ghana.
Ofili’s switch was made public by Jamaica-based journalist Kayon Raynor on his X handle late Saturday.
“Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili has switched allegiance to Turkey as of May 31, 2025. According to TVJ News centre sources, 22-year-old Ofili has advised the Athletics Integrity Unit of her frustration with the Nigerian Athletics Federation,” Raynor posted via X.
Ofili cited missing the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the failure of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria and the Nigeria Olympic Committee to register her for the 100m event at the last games in Paris.
Ofili, 22, holds the national 200m women’s record with 21.96s and personal best of 10.78s, performances she did in 2022.
Extrasportnigeria 
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