World Athletics has confirmed it has received four athlete transfer requests from the Turkish Athletics Federation, with strong indications that Nigeria’s fastest-ever female 200m runner, Favour Ofili, is among them. The confirmation comes amidst swirling reports that the 22-year-old sprint star has officially begun the process of switching allegiance to Turkey, less than three months before the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The confirmation came in response to an inquiry by Bold Sports following media reports linking the 22-year-old to a potential switch of allegiance. While World Athletics did not confirm any individual names, the governing body said the applications are currently under review by the Nationality Review Panel (NRP), the independent body responsible for handling all nationality change requests in accordance with the sport’s rules and ethics.
“We can confirm that the NRP [Nationality Review Panel] has received four applications from the Turkish Member Federation requesting athlete transfers,” World Athletics Communications Manager Maphuti Hlako told Bold Sports. “These applications have neither been reviewed as of yet, nor approved by the NRP.”
While World Athletics did not confirm the names involved, sources in Jamaica revealed that Ofili filed her request on May 31, 2025, citing deep frustration with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).
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Under World Athletics rules, athletes switching allegiance must undergo a three-year waiting period before competing for their new nation. If successful, Ofili will miss the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September and the 2027 edition in Beijing, but would be eligible to represent Turkey at the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics.
The AFN issued a press statement on Sunday expressing shock and disappointment.
“Just like every other sports-loving person in Nigeria, we read and heard about her desire to change nationality from the media,” AFN President Tonobok Okowa said. “If this is true, it is sad, disheartening and painful. She is a promising athlete with huge potential.”
Okowa explained that the federation has not received any official statement from Ofili or communication from World Athletics about the transfer request.
“She is old enough to decide what’s best for her, but it’s painful and hard to take for us,” he said. “We want to apologize to Nigerians, the National Sports Commission, and millions of people who hold the sport and country in high esteem for this sad development.”
The AFN claimed it had made several attempts to reach out and compensate Ofili following her controversial omission from the women’s 100m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics, despite qualifying for the race.
“She had already been paid her training grant for this year,” Okowa revealed, adding that all efforts to heal the wounds caused by the Olympic omission proved abortive.
Ofili’s frustration reportedly stemmed from her exclusion from Tokyo 2020, when she was one of 10 Nigerian athletes disqualified for not meeting out-of-competition testing requirements. More recently, she was not entered in the 100m at the Paris 2024 Olympics despite qualifying, a decision that sparked public outcry and led to a panel being set up by then Minister of Sports, John Enoh, which recommended she be compensated with $5,000. The recommendation has reportedly not been implemented.
Born in 2002, Favour Ofili has had a decorated career representing Nigeria. She won silver in the 200m at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, bronze in the 200m at the 2021 World U20 Championships, and was a silver medallist in the 400m at the 2019 African Games. She also made history in 2022 by becoming the first Nigerian woman—and second African woman—to break the 22-second barrier in the 200m, clocking a national record of 21.96 seconds. That same year, she ran 10.93 seconds in the 100m, making her the first female NCAA athlete to go sub-11 and sub-22.
In 2025, she added another milestone by running the fastest time in the world over 150m—15.85 seconds.
If her switch is confirmed, Ofili will join a growing list of top Nigerian athletes who have changed nationality. Gloria Alozie switched to Spain after she won Olympic silver in the 100m hurdles, and Annette Echikunwoke, who was one of the 10 disqualified Nigerian athletes at Tokyo 2020 and later went on to win silver in hammer throw for the U.S. in the Paris 2024 Olympics, are prominent examples.
Several Nigerian-born athletes have also switched allegiance to Qatar and Bahrain, two Gulf nations known for aggressively recruiting African sporting talent. Oluwakemi Adekoya, a 400m hurdles specialist, left Nigeria to compete for Bahrain and went on to win multiple Asian titles. Edidiong Odiong, a sprinter born in Nigeria’s Cross River State, also represents Bahrain and won triple gold at the 2018 Asian Games. Salwa Eid Naser, who stunned the world with her 48.14s run to win the 2019 world title in the women’s 400m, was born in Nigeria as Ebelechukwu Agbapuonwu but competes for Bahrain. On the men’s side, Femi Ogunode, once Nigeria’s top sprinter, now competes for Qatar and holds multiple Asian records. His younger brother, Tosin Ogunode, also switched allegiance to Qatar.
World Athletics reiterated its commitment to fairness in the nationality change process.
“We remain committed to ensuring that all transfers of allegiance are conducted fairly, transparently, and in the best interests of the sport,” Hlako told Bold Sports.
As of now, Ofili is still listed as Nigerian on the World Athletics database. However, if her application is successful and uncontested, she will be cleared to wear Turkish colours from mid-2028 and compete for them at the Olympics.
Bold Sports will continue to follow developments on this story.
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