After criticising Nigerian Goverment Favour Ofili reportedly makes shocking allegiance switch after multiple Jamaican Athletes

Favour Ofili has reportedly switched allegiance to Turkey months after expressing frustration over the Nigerian Athletics Federation. Ofili missed competing in one of her signature events at the 2024 Paris Games since the governing body missed adding her name to the final list.

Favour Ofili, who specializes in the 100m, 200m, and relays, was one of the most promising LSU student-athletes before signing a contract with Adidas in 2023. With three World U20 Championships medals in her resume, she vied to make her Games debut in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Despite qualifying for her signature events, the 22-year-old was not added to the 100m official list.

In an X post from August 2, 2024, she lambasted the governing body for the botch and queried whether the officials assigned were held accountable enough.

"Who assigned federations and/or Olympic committees to enter athletes into Olympic Games? Is it World Athletics? If so, should they not hold them accountable when they fail to do their job by not entering athletes in events they qualify and want to compete?"

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She competed in the 200m but faded to sixth in the finals, losing her only chance of an Olympic gold.

The bitter taste in Favour Ofili's mouth prompted her to switch allegiance to Turkey as of May 31, 2025, as per Television Jamaica/Radio Jamaica Newscentre's reports. Although she will not represent Turkey for monetary reasons like Jamaican athletes, Rajindra Campbell (Olympic shot put bronze medalist), and Roje Stona (discus gold medalist).

Campbell and Stona will receive monthly financial support and a signing bonus of $500,000 each. In 2015, Emre Zafer Barnes and Jak Ali Harvey, track athletes, also switched allegiance to Turkey.

Favour Ofili had issued a strong message after her Olympic stint

Ofili at the Commonwealth Games Day 7 - (Source: Getty)

Favour Ofili, the LSU alum who previously held the NCAA record in the 200m, faced a setback in Paris last year. Despite it being her dream event, the 22-year-old had to struggle mentally throughout the campaign for a AFN's casualty. She shared her story on Instagram and promised a stronger comeback.

"Competing in the Olympics has been the dream of a lifetime. The outcome of this Olympic wasn’t what I hoped for, having to fight with myself everyday to be strong mentally even when my body and health were at stake due to the challenges I faced. It’s easy to feel defeated, but every setback is a setup for a comeback. I’m proud of myself, the whole thing made me realize how strong I am and im grateful for the support I got from my coach,family and fans."

Ofili claimed bronze podium in her first Grand Slam Track stop in Miami, leaving triple Olympic champion Gabby Thomas in fourth.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder