NIGERIAN sprint star and Commonwealth Games silver medallist Favour Ofili has reportedly filed to switch her nationality to Turkey, months before the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
According to Jamaican journalist Kayon Raynor, the 22-year-old’s switch took effect from May 31, 2025, following a formal request to the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
Ofili, who holds the world record in the rarely run 150m with a time of 15.85 seconds, reportedly decided due to long-standing frustrations with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).
Sources told TVJ News Centre that Ofili’s decision arose from repeated administrative failings by Nigerian officials. She is said to have cited two major grievances in her letter to the AIU.
Missing the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after Nigeria failed to meet mandatory anti-doping protocols, which led to her disqualification along with nine other athletes.
Being denied entry in the 100m event at the 2024 Paris Olympics due to a registration error by the AFN, despite her qualification. Ofili eventually competed in the 200m, finishing sixth in the final.
Ofili, a two-time NCAA champion with personal bests of 10.93s (100m) and 21.96s (200m), had been one of Nigeria’s brightest medal prospects for the upcoming World Championships scheduled for September 13–21 in Tokyo.
Her switch comes amid Turkey’s aggressive recruitment of international athletes. Reports suggest the Turkish Athletics Federation has offered up to $500,000 to athletes willing to change nationality, including several Jamaicans.
The development adds Ofili to the growing list of elite Nigerian athletes who have switched allegiance due to dissatisfaction with domestic sports administration.
The Nigerian athletes, which include Francis Obikwelu (Portugal), Gloria Alozie (Spain), and Femi Ogunode (Qatar), all of whom went on to achieve major global success.
