Okorie Raises 20 Questions for WWS Over Athlete Representation, NCAA Compliance

AFN Performance Director Victor Okorie has called on World Wide Scholarships (WWS) to provide greater clarity on its athlete-management agreements, NCAA compliance claims and arrangements for athletes transitioning into professional athletics.

Okorie, a former student-athlete with experience of the NCAA system, raised the questions on his Facebook page, stressing that his intervention was intended to promote transparency and protect athletes, parents, coaches and other stakeholders considering representation agreements with WWS.

The AFN Performance Director asked WWS to explain the precise scope of its athlete-management agreement, including whether it covers scholarship placement, recruitment, NIL, sponsorship, branding, immigration assistance, athletics representation or professional representation.

He also sought clarification on the duration and termination of the contract, exclusivity provisions, fees and commissions, ownership of athletes’ name, image and likeness rights, and what happens when an NCAA athlete transitions into professional athletics.

Okorie specifically questioned WWS on its World Athletics representation arrangements, asking the organisation to identify the World Athletics-licensed Athletes’ Representative it works with when athletes move into professional athletics and to provide the representative’s licence information.

He also asked WWS to substantiate its claim that it is the ‘only NCAA-approved recruiting service in Africa in history’, requesting details of the NCAA rule, certification, approval or official document establishing the status.

Another question concerned WWS’s statement that it is ‘listed in the compliance offices of all NCAA universities’. Okorie asked what that means in practical terms and whether official NCAA or university documentation exists to support the claim.

The former student-athlete also raised questions about the protection of NCAA eligibility, safeguards for athletes under 18, independent legal review, governing law, arbitration, insurance and the 90-day breach-resolution period.

He further asked WWS to provide anonymised examples or case studies showing how NCAA athletes have been successfully managed without jeopardising their eligibility.

But perhaps the most significant of his 20 questions was whether WWS would make its standard athlete-management agreement, fee structure, termination provisions, exclusivity provisions and applicable NCAA/World Athletics compliance framework available to athletes and their parents or guardians for independent review before signing.

Okorie said the purpose of his questions was to ensure transparency, informed consent, regulatory compliance and athlete protection.

His intervention is particularly notable because of his role as AFN Performance Director and his own background as a former student-athlete familiar with the NCAA environment. His experience gives him an understanding of the system Nigerian athletes increasingly enter through university scholarships and other opportunities in the United States.

The questions do not, in themselves, allege that WWS has breached NCAA or World Athletics rules. Rather, they seek clarification on the organisation’s contractual structure, regulatory status and safeguards for athletes.

WWS has yet to publicly respond to the questions.