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World record holder in the women’s 150m, Favour Ofili, has officially announced her decision to switch her sporting allegiance from Nigeria to Turkey, citing repeated administrative failures by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) as the driving force behind her move.
Favour Ofili’s confirmation comes nearly three months after rumours of her switch first emerged. The 22-year-old sprinter had long been regarded as one of the country’s brightest track talents, but frustrations over missed opportunities appear to have tipped the scales.
“Wrapping up my 2025 season has been a whirlwind of new experiences and big decisions. Racing back-to-back across amazing cities and learning from the best has been incredible,” she wrote on Instagram.
She explained her decision bluntly, placing the blame squarely on Nigeria’s sporting bodies: “I am proud to have represented Nigeria for many years in a highly successful way…while experiencing the biggest disappointment from AFN and NOC for their negligence towards me in two Olympic Games (Tokyo/Paris).”
Ofili’s troubles with Nigerian athletics date back to Tokyo 2020, where she was among 10 athletes barred from competing for missing out-of-competition tests. In Paris 2024, the saga continued when officials failed to register her for the women’s 100m, denying her the chance to compete on the world’s biggest stage.
The star sprinter stressed that her switch was not financially motivated: “While that means sitting out this year’s championship in Tokyo, this change comes from the heart, not from financial motives. I’m truly grateful to have discovered a new home in Turkey. I’m excited for what’s ahead and grateful for all the support I got from my coach, agent, sponsor adidas and my loved ones during this difficult time.”
Favour Ofili joins a long line of Nigerian athletes who have left the country due to administrative lapses, including Francis Obikwelu (Portugal), Gloria Alozie (Spain), Florence Ekpo-Umoh (Germany), Salwa Eid Naser (Bahrain), and Femi Ogunode (Qatar).
Despite the controversies, Ofili has had a remarkable season, making her Diamond League debut and breaking the women’s 150m world record at the Adidas Atlanta City Games in May with a time of 15.85 seconds, surpassing Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo’s previous mark of 16.23s.
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