THE Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has stated that the reports alleging that Olympic sprinter Favour Ofili has switched her allegiance to Turkey are disheartening.
It, however, emphasised that she remains a beacon of hope in the country’s athletics.
“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,” a statement signed by the President of AFN, Chief Tonobok Okowa, on Sunday, read.
“If this is true, it is sad, disheartening and painful, but we have 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,” it added.
Ofili had reportedly switched allegiance to Turkiye, less than three months before the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The report of the switch was made public by Jamaica-based journalist Kayon Raynor on his X handle late Saturday.
Ofili was denied 100m Spot at the Paris Olympics, where in a series of angry tweets cited administrative failures by the AFN as well as the trustworthiness of both organisations.
“I have worked for four years to earn this opportunity. For what? This is not the first time you guys are doing this, so don’t think this is over because it’s not,” Ofili wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
But according to Okowa, the 22-year-old has made it difficult to reach any form of truce after the Tokyo Olympics mistake.
“Favour Ofili had already been paid her training grant for this year,” Okowa said.
The AFN President also explained that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics issue did not happen under his first tenure, and they have worked to correct it.
“The preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics had been planned and concluded by the former board and the sports ministry, in association with the Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC). We had no hand in the whole affair and built up to the Games. Look at the number of tests the AFN conducted under my watch,
”We funded 60 per cent of the tests carried out before the Paris Games, there were no doping violations or anything of the sort,” he said
The statement also added, ”It’s also clear that she has been preparing and working on her newfound Turkish love. She is old enough to decide what’s best for her, but it’s painful and hard to take for us; however, we will not stop her, she is still our child, sister, and daughter.
“We want to apologise 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.
“Despite our own inadequacies, on several occasions she shunned the national trials, and even when she came, she selected the events she preferred to compete in.
”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 African Games in Accra, Ghana.
“No doubt Ofili is one of the best of our athletes in recent times, but she is difficult to deal with.”
“The AFN has its issues, but we are getting along well with other top athletes and are still thriving within the system. We wish her well in whatever she is doing and wherever she is going.
Ofili holds the national 200m women’s record with 21.96s and a personal best of 10.78s, performances she did in 2022.