“Shame to Our Athletics Federation”: Favour Ofili’s Career Decision Erupts Fresh Controversy In Track & Field

It might not be one of the best days in Nigerian track and field. “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. As some of you have heard, I’m also starting a new chapter representing Turkey.” This was a part of the message Ofili gave out through her social media post on September 1. It might not have been a surprise, as the news was out from June that she is switching allegiances, but it had to strike some chords.

Making of Champions, Nigeria’s leading Sports Talent, Events & Media Agency, took a moment to give out the news and talk about what she had done for the nation. On September 1, they wrote on X, “Former Nigerian🇳🇬 international, Favour Ofili has officially announced that she is switching nationalities and will now be representing Turkey.” She finished fifth (11.19) in the Brussels Diamond League, and that was the last time Favour Ofili ran as a Nigerian track and field athlete. A loss that has the fans saying, “Well deserved. Can’t blame her. Wishing her the very best..”

“Certainly a big loss for Nigeria, losing an athlete of a generation like Ofili to another country. Ofili is the only Nigerian woman to go under 22s in the women’s 200m, and she holds the Nigerian Record in this event with a Lifetime’s Best of 21.96s,” the tweet read further. Back in April 2022, she finished 1st in the 200m finals of the Tom Jones Memorial, clocking 21.96 seconds, her personal best in the discipline to this date.

The post continued, “She had represented Nigeria across different levels: Youth Olympics in (Buenos Aires 2019), World Athletics Championships (Doha 2019 and Budapest 2023); Olympic Games (Paris 2024); Commonwealth Games (Birmingham 2022); multiple African Championships.” Having a look at records as a Nigerian, she won gold in the 400m (2018 African Youth Games), 200m (2019 Nigerian Champs), 4×400m & 4×400m mixed (2021 Nigerian Trials), 4×400m (2021 World U20), and 100m (2024 Nigerian Champs).

She claimed silver in the 400m (2019 African Games) and 200m (2022 Commonwealth Games); bronze in the 200m & 4×100m (2021 World U20); and was a 200m finalist at Paris 2024. So, clearly, fans are not happy with the decision, while some last out at Ofili herself, many have been attacking the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), too. After all, they were one big reason why the only female Nigerian to ever clock a sub-22 is now gone.

Track and field community last out at AFN

Yesterday, when the 22-year-old bid her goodbye to Nigerian track and field, she once again highlighted how she was neglected by AFN. And fans, aware of this, are angry at the organization.

One remarked, “All the best to her in the world championship. AFN should cover their faces in shame.” The fan’s intention might be pure, but according to Rule 4.4.2 of the World Athletics Eligibility Rules, if an athlete has competed for one country in a major event like the Olympics or World Championships, they have to wait three years before representing another nation. This means we probably won’t see Ofili back in a big competition until the 2027 World Championships.

And then, another user said, “Shame to our Athletics federation, Sport ministry and Sport minster @OMYSDNg) @OwanEnoh this is disastrous from them all.“ Back in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, AFN and Nigeria Olympic Committee forgot to complete mandatory pre-Games drug testing for athletes based in the U.S. Favour was a LSU student back then, and she was one of 14 athletes barred from competing due to this.

And so, fans agreed with her decision. “I would have done that if am in her shoes. It us you’d career and your life. You don’t wear the colors of a country that doesn’t value your worth,” noted another comment.

Another fan wrote, “Sabotaged at TWO Olympic Games I can’t blame her Wish her even bigger things She may represent another country but will still always be Nigerian.” Yes, she was not just robbed once but twice of her Olympic dreams. After 2021, in the 2024 Olympics, they did not put her name in Nigeria’s entry list for the women’s 100m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics, despite qualifying.

So, citing all that she has been through, did she do the right thing – what do you think?