Fury as Ofili Switches Allegiance to Turkey

 



The Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, and other notable Nigerians have expresed their outrage following the widely circulated report that sprinter Favour Ofili has decided to henceforth represent Turkey in international competitions.

The news broke out over the weekend that the recent 150m World Record holder has decided to ditch her country of birth. Ofili and some other athletes missed the 2020 Olympics over failed drug testing rules and also missed the 100m event at the 2204 Paris Olympics due to negligence on the part of AFN officials.

In the wake of the news the AFN president, Tonobok Okowa, released a statement, where he highlighted the athlete’s high-handedness while competing for Nigeria.

She broke down at the Paris Olympics when she failed in the 200m event and being consoled by some Nigerian journalists at the Media Tribune.


Meanwhile, former Nigerian sprinter Olusoji Fasuba has launched a scathing attack on the hierarchy of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, following a statement put out by the nation’s governing body in the wake of Favour Ofili’s purported switch to Turkey.


“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, on her request. She is a promising athlete with huge potential,” Okowa said in a statement.

“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 is painful and hard to take for us, however, we will not stop her, she is still our child, sister and daughter.Ofili’s switch to the European country was made public on Sunday,  just three months before the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

The 22-year-old Ofili was said to have advised the Athletics Integrity Unit of her frustration with the AFN, noting that her switch of allegiance was not financially motivated.

Fasuba, a former African record holder in the men’s 100m spoke during an interview on Lagos Talks 91.3FM on Monday where he expressed his disappointment 


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