Ofili: Turkey to Challenge World Athletics Ruling at CAS
Turkey will challenge World Athletics’ decision to block Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili’s transfer of allegiance, along with 10 other athletes, at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The move was first revealed by Jamaican journalist Kayon Raynor, who reported on X that Turkish authorities were preparing a legal challenge. ‘Breaking @turkeyathletic will be appealing the decision by @WorldAthletics to turn down the transfer of allegiance applications of 11 athletes including 4 J’can Olympians,’ Raynor wrote, citing confidential sources.
World Athletics’ Nationality Review Panel had rejected the applications on Thursday, ruling that the initiative was part of a coordinated recruitment strategy led by the Turkish government.
The panel concluded that the plan sought to attract established international athletes through lucrative contracts in order to strengthen Turkey’s team ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The group included five Kenyans, Brigid Kosgei, Brian Kibor, Ronald Kwemoi, Nelvin Jepkemboi and Catherine Relin Amanang’ole, four Jamaicans, Jaydon Hibbert, Rajindra Campbell, Wayne Pinnock and Roje Stona, as well as Russian athlete Sophia Yakushina.
In its ruling, the panel stated: ‘The Application by the TAF for Favour Ofili (the ‘Athlete’) to transfer allegiance from NGR to TUR is not approved.’
It warned that allowing such transfers would undermine the credibility of national representation and incentivise nationality changes driven by financial considerations rather than genuine national ties.
While Ofili is yet to officially make a statement, Olympic discus champion Roje Stona has been left ‘devastated’ by the decision, according to his agent Paul Doyle.
‘Athletes in the past have been approved, and now all of a sudden, these ones aren’t,’ Doyle told the Jamaica Observer. ‘They’ve really, truly embraced Turkish culture, so to me it doesn’t make sense.’
Doyle added: ‘He’s not happy, obviously, but he understands that it’s a process. Hopefully, we can get through this and it’ll work out as favourably as possible for him.’
Jamaican Sports lawyer Dr Emir Crowne has also questioned the fairness of the ruling, raising concerns about whether the athletes were unfairly grouped together rather than assessed individually.
‘It does raise a question as to whether the 11 athletes were unfairly grouped together, as opposed to it being an individualised assessment of each transfer,’ Crowne told Observer Online.
He noted that appealing to CAS may require the athletes to first request reconsideration from the same panel that denied their applications.
‘Seems to me that that in itself is slightly irregular,’ Crowne said.
For now, the ruling means Ofili and the other athletes cannot represent Turkey in major international competitions such as the Olympic Games and World Championships, though they remain eligible to compete in one-day meetings or at the club level.
