“Hard to see a difference between what was emerging and human trafficking.” That was Sebastian Coe on the chaos surrounding athletes switching allegiance between countries, a system that once blurred lines and forced governing bodies to step in. Years later, the rules have tightened, and the landscape has changed, but World Athletics hasn’t budged, and that stance has now blocked an Olympian from making a career-defining move.

That’s what the statement from World Athletics confirmed, as it rejected Flavour Ofili’s attempt to change her sporting allegiance from Nigeria to Turkey. The Nigerian sprinter began pursuing a switch in 2025 after issues with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria. However, she and 10 other athletes, who were also seeking to switch to Turkiye, have all been denied the chance to do so.

“The World Athletics Nationality Review Panel has today refused the applications of 11 athletes seeking to transfer their allegiance to Türkiye,” reads the statement.

“In its decisions, the panel considered that approval of these applications would impinge upon and compromise the imperatives underlying the World Athletics eligibility rules and transfer of allegiance regulations.

“The panel found that the applications formed part of a coordinated recruitment strategy led by the Türkiye government acting through a wholly‑owned and financed government club, to attract overseas athletes through lucrative contracts, with the aim of facilitating transfers of allegiance and enabling those athletes to represent Türkiye at future international competitions, including the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.”

This marks a serious blow for the likes of Ofili, Jamaica’s Rojé Stona, Russia’s Sophia Yakushina, and several others, but they can appeal the decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). However, for the Nigerian star, it’s a different situation.

She, more than the other ten, has had immense problems with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN). It kicked off at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when Favour Ofili, alongside 10 Nigerian athletes, was disqualified from the tournament.

The incident stemmed from reported negligence by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, which failed to carry out the mandatory three out-of-competition tests required before the Olympics. As a result, Favour Ofili, Ruth Usoro, Annette Echikunwoke, and seven other athletes were disqualified, prompting them to stage a protest in Tokyo.

Echikunwoke even accused the Athletics Federation of Nigeria of leaving them in the dark about the testing, saying they were never informed. For Ofili, however, things got even worse three years later when the federation didn’t even submit her name for the 100m event at the Paris Olympics despite her qualifying.

That upset her, and she took to social media to hit out at the Athletics Federation of Nigeria before eventually switching allegiances to Turkiye. And to make matters worse, Ofili wasn’t the only one unhappy with her country, as several Jamaican athletes have hit out at the Jamaican Athletics Administrative Association for negligence.

Danniel Thomas-Dodd is prime among them, as she pointed out that their focus is on track, not on their field athletes. As a result, five Jamaican field athletes switched allegiances, upsetting the JAA, who hit out at Turkiye for luring their stars with lucrative sums.

Yet, while the 11 athletes won’t be able to compete at major events like the Olympics or the World Championships, the statement from World Athletics won’t stop them from competing in one-day events.

“As a result of the decisions, the athletes are not eligible to represent Türkiye in national representative competitions or other relevant international events,” the statement noted. “The panel noted, however, that this does not prevent the athletes from competing in one-day meetings or road races in a personal or club capacity, or from living and training in Türkiye.”

However, the news has gone down well with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, as a former president lauded World Athletics for their decision.

Former President of AFN Solomon Ogba praises World Athletics’ decision

That is despite Favour Ofili currently holding Turkish citizenship and having therefore given up her Nigerian passport after choosing to represent Turkiye. But while she won’t be able to represent them, the Turkish Athletic Federation has yet to reveal whether they will appeal the decision. For now, however, it leaves Ofili in a limbo, although she can continue training, competing in club events, and one day meet for Turkiye.

Yet the decision and subsequent statement from World Athletics has gone down well with former AFN president Solomon Ogba, who praised Sebastian Coe and company for stopping Favour Ofili from switching her allegiance to Turkiye.

“I want to specially thank the president of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, a true friend of developing countries, members of the panel and the World Athletics family for standing with the truth,” Ogba said, as per Leadership.ng.

“How can a country give an athlete the opportunity for his or her talent to blossom from primary school, to secondary school and to the collegiate level, then a country that doesn’t believe in the athlete when he or she is just a potential, come with bags full of money and snatch the athlete, it’s unfair, it’s unjust and should be discouraged.”

The former AFN president pointed out that athlete transfers of allegiance are not new, though this may be the first time they have occurred on such a large scale. Turkey itself faced intense scrutiny when its 2016 European Championships team included 14 athletes from different countries, among them seven from Kenya, two from Jamaica, and one from Cuba.

They’re not the first country to do so, either, as Qatar has also used financial incentives to get foreign athletes to switch allegiances, and it has worked well for them. So much so that Fares Ibrahim Hassouna did so in time for the postponed 2021 Tokyo Olympics and won Qatar their first ever Olympic gold medal. The same applies to Winfred Yavi, who swapped Kenya for Bahrain as a teenager and would eventually go on to win World Championships and Olympic gold medals.

However, Ogba wasn’t done; he doubled down on that stance, warning athletes about the long-term consequences of such decisions.

“Most athletes who dumped Team Nigeria always come home to seek our help after their careers. My advice to our athlete is to stay where you are,” Ogba continued.

“The grass may look greener on the other side, but there is life after athletics, and it is only your country that will allow you to be a coach, a manager, president of the federation, and other opportunities after your career.”

And with World Athletics holding firm, cases like Favour Ofili’s may just set a precedent for how future allegiance switches work. Although athletes can appeal the case to the CAS, only time will tell what happens to their athletic futures and which country they end up representing should they qualify for the 2028 LA Olympics.

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