The National Sports Commission (NSC) has begun steps to prevent United States-based sprinter Favour Ofili from completing her planned switch of sporting allegiance to Turkey.
The development comes amid renewed debate over athlete nationality changes, with Nigerian sprint icon Mary Onyali recently disclosing that she rejected offers to represent four different countries during her career.
Ofili, regarded as one of Nigeria’s brightest sprint prospects, announced last year that she intended to compete for Turkey, a decision that sent shockwaves through the country’s athletics community.
However, a senior official of the NSC maintained on Sunday that the sprinter remains officially tied to Nigeria. According to the official, Ofili was among elite athletes who received training grants from the commission last year, making an immediate switch of allegiance untenable.
“Ofili remains our athlete,” the official said. “She benefited from NSC support, and under the regulations guiding nationality transfers, she cannot simply change allegiance. If she wishes to compete for another country, she would have to wait until September 2028.”
The official added that the commission had formally communicated its position to World Athletics, outlining Nigeria’s stance on the proposed transfer.
Ofili holds the distinction of being the only Nigerian woman to run the 200 metres in under 22 seconds, setting a national record of 21.96 seconds. Before announcing her intention to represent Turkey, she competed for Nigeria at several major international events, including the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in 2019, the World Athletics Championships in Doha (2019) and Budapest (2023), the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (2022), and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
She also featured regularly at the African Championships, cementing her status as a key figure in Nigerian track and field in recent years.
