Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili has reportedly switched allegiance to Turkey after the Athletics Federation of Nigeria failed to enter her in the 100m at the Paris Olympics, despite her qualifying. She also missed Tokyo 2020 after Nigeria was disqualified over failed doping protocols.
She now joins a wave of athletes switching to Turkey, including Jamaica’s Paris 2024 discus gold medalist Roje Stona, shot put bronze medalist Rajindra Campbell, and U-20 triple jump world record holder Jaydon Hibbert.
Reports say Turkey is offering $500k to each athlete, along with generous training and competition bonuses.
Ofili stated that the Nigerian Ath. Fed. caused her to miss the Toyko 2020 Olympics after they did not confirm her number of doping control test & then missed competing in the 100m at the Paris Olympics after they did not enter her for the event. She was 6th in the 200m final.
It’s further understood that Ofili impressed up on the AIU that her switch to Turkey was not for financial reasons.
She owns personal best times of 10.93secs and 21.96secs in the 100m and 200m, respectively.
She’s still listed on WA as Nigerian… so until that’s officially updated, she’s recognized at representing Nigeria.
Since she did compete for Nigeria in Paris, the minimum window of 3 years must be met – meaning missing Worlds in Tokyo and then Beijing.
