Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili has disclosed that she will not participate in the 100-metre event at the Paris Olympics because of administrative shortcomings by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC).
On Tuesday, Ofili expressed her frustration in several tweets, questioning the competency of both organisations and demanding accountability from those responsible for her missed opportunity.
Her post read, “It is with great regret that I have just been told I will not compete 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 revealed that although she met the competition requirements, the officials failed to register her, echoing a situation that occurred at the previous Olympics in Tokyo 2020.
“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 resulted in 14 Nigerian athletes who qualified not competing. Now this……”She added.
“If those responsible are not held accountable for taking this opportunity from me, neither organisation can ever be trusted in the future! The next one is the 200 metres. I hope I’m entered.”
Ofili was entered for multiple events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after securing her place in the women’s 200m event. However, she was among 10 Nigerian athletes who were declared ineligible for the Olympics due to inadequate testing before Tokyo 2020.