World Athletics cracks down on Türkiye recruiting foreign athletes
11 athletes attempting to switch their allegiance for the LA 2028 Olympics have been denied
Kevin Morris
Türkiye’s attempt to recruit overseas athletes for the upcoming LA 2028 Olympic Games just hit a massive snag. The World Athletics Nationality Review Panel has denied the transfer-of-allegiance applications of 11 athletes seeking to compete under Türkiye’s banner in upcoming international competitions.
The World Athletics Nationality Review Panel has today refused the applications of 11 athletes seeking to transfer their allegiance to Türkiye.
Full press release 🔗 https://t.co/TxlnT5dvdO pic.twitter.com/sou4KZXXAH
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) April 16, 2026
Türkiye has a history of naturalizing athletes to increase its medal count and has been heavily criticized for it. At the 2016 European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam, the nation won 12 medals, with a team of athletes who had previously represented Kenya, Jamaica, Ethiopia, Cuba, South Africa, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. In 2018, World Athletics issued new regulations on athletes changing their national affiliation.
The athletes denied
The list of 11 athletes includes Nigerian 200m record holder Favour Ofili, the former women’s marathon world record holder from Kenya, Brigid Kosgei, and other Kenyan athletes Catherine Relin Amanang’ole, Brian Kibor and Nelvin J
epkemboi. Also included were 2024 Paris Olympic discus gold medallist Roje Stone of Jamaica, alongside three other Jamaicans (Wayne Pinnock, Rajindra Campbell and Jaydon Hibbert) and Russian heptathlete Sophia Yakushina.
Ofili publicly criticized the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) in 2025 for administrative shortcomings; at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Nigeria failed to comply with anti-doping rules, which led to 10 Nigerian track and field athletes, including Ofili, being forced to withdraw. At the Paris Olympics, they failed to include Ofili’s name in the 100m starting list.
Although Ofili claims her transfer of allegiance is due to the AFN’s administrative lapses damaging her career, World Athletics noted other reasons for denying her and the other 10 athletes’ transfers.
World Athletics’ mercenary rule
World Athletics stated that because the 11 applications were similar, its review panel would evaluate them together. In a press release, it states, “Approval of these applications would impinge upon and compromise the imperatives underlying the World Athletics eligibility rules and transfer of allegiance regulations.”
According to section 1.2.1 of the Transfer of Allegiance Regulations, athletes switching allegiance must have a genuine connection to the country they are seeking to represent, ensuring they “do not switch either abruptly or frequently to other national representative teams for purely mercenary reasons.”
The press release goes on to say, “The applications formed part of a coordinated recruitment strategy led by the Türkiye government acting through a wholly‑owned and financed government club.” World Athletics continues: “These principles are designed to safeguard the credibility of international competition and encourage Member Federations to invest in the development of domestic talent.”
World Athletics Panel says it denied the allegiance transfer because of the lucrative contracts awarded for joining Türkiye’s government-financed club.
The fallout
These athletes are banned from participating in international competitions on behalf of Türkiye, including world championships and the 2028 Olympics (pending appeal). This does not stop the athletes from competing for Türkiye at one-day meetings or road races or from living and training there. The athletes will remain tethered to their home countries’ banners for future international competitions.
According to World Athletics regulations, athletes may appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 30 days. Otherwise, they must wait to reapply until they can demonstrate a “genuine connection with the country.”
