Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili has voiced her frustration with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) following her exclusion from the women’s 100m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Despite winning the Nigerian 100m title at the Olympic trials in Benin and securing her place on the team, Ofili will not compete in the event in Paris. According to her, the AFN, NOC, and the National Anti-Doping Committee (NADC) failed to register her for the competition, depriving her of the opportunity.
In a public statement, the distressed athlete criticized the AFN for its failure to support her Olympic ambitions. "It is with great regret that I have just been told I will not be competing in the 100 meters at this Olympic Games. I qualified, but those with the AFN and NOC failed to enter my name. I have worked for 4 years to earn this opportunity. For what… to not be entered and compete at the Olympic Games because the responsible organization failed to enter me?" Ofili expressed.
She also recalled her previous experience at the last Olympic Games, where she was unable to compete because the AFN, NADC, and NOC did not release funds for necessary testing, resulting in the disqualification of 14 Nigerian athletes. "Please remember, in the last Olympic Games I was not able to compete because AFN, NADC and NOC failed to release funds for athletes in the USA to be tested, which made 14 Nigerian athletes that qualified to not compete. Now THIS… 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 meters, I HOPE I’M ENTERED," she added.
