Editorial: AFN’s Statement on Age Eligibility: A Deflection of Responsibility

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has issued a statement on age eligibility and integrity, presenting itself as a guardian of fairness and athlete welfare.

Yet the words ring hollow when set against the very rulebook the Federation claims to uphold. World Athletics’ Eligibility Rules are clear: national federations bear the responsibility for vetting and verifying the ages of athletes they register for competitions.

Rule 3.3 states unequivocally that if an athlete competes when not eligible, both the athlete and the team (nation/Federation) they represent are disqualified, and that federations are accountable for ensuring eligibility before registration.

This is not a matter of interpretation. It is a direct obligation. And it is precisely where the AFN has failed. The Athletics Integrity Unit’s query of December 2, 2025 revealed that sixteen of the seventeen athletes flagged for multiple birth dates at the Africa U18 and U20 Championships in Abeokuta were registered by the AFN itself.

That fact alone demolishes the Federation’s attempt to portray itself as a neutral enforcer of rules rather than a culpable regulator.

Instead of acknowledging its lapses, the AFN’s statement shifts blame to athletes, coaches, and even states, while boasting of disciplinary measures and new partnerships. But integrity in sport is not built on punishment after the fact; it is built on prevention.

The Federation’s failure to enforce the simplest eligibility requirement, verifying ages before registration, shows either incompetence or willful neglect.

The irony is glaring. The AFN cites its commitment to World Athletics standards while ignoring the very clause that makes it accountable.

If a federation cannot understand or apply the most basic eligibility rules, how can it credibly administer track and field in Nigeria? This is not about complex governance; it is about reading and enforcing a single line in the rulebook.

The AFN’s declaration of integrity is therefore less a reaffirmation of principle than a confession of incapacity.

Until it accepts responsibility for its own role in the age falsification scandal, Nigerian athletics will remain mired in distrust, and the Federation itself will stand exposed as a body unfit to govern the sport it claims to protect.