Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili has announced that she will not be competing in the 100-metre race at the ongoing Olympics in Paris due to administrative failures by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC).
In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Ofili expressed her frustration and questioned the trustworthiness of both organizations, calling for accountability from those responsible for her lost opportunity.
“It is with great regret that I have just been told I will not be competing in the 100 metres at this Olympic Games. I qualified, but those with the AFN and NOC failed to enter me. I have worked for four years to earn this opportunity. For what?” Ofili tweeted.
The LSU Track and Field alumna hopes to be entered in the 200-metre event.
Ofili highlighted a similar issue during the previous Olympics in Tokyo 2020, where she and other Nigerian athletes were disqualified due to administrative lapses. “Please remember, in the last Olympic Games, I was not able to compete because AFN, NADC, and NOC failed to release funds for athletes to be tested, which made 14 Nigerian athletes that qualified not compete. Now this…”
She further added, “If those responsible are not held accountable for taking this opportunity from me, neither organization can ever be trusted in the future! Next one is the 200 metres. I hope I’m entered.”
Despite qualifying for multiple events, including the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 4×100 relay, Ofili faces uncertainty due to the ongoing administrative issues.
The 21-year-old athlete was one of 10 Nigerian athletes declared ineligible for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by the Athletics Integrity Unit due to inadequate testing prior to the games.
