Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili has expressed her frustration after sadly revealing that she will not compete in the 100-metre race at the ongoing Olympics in Paris. Ofili claims her Olympic dreams have been dashed due to administrative failures by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria and the Nigerian Olympic Committee. Ofili took to X to write: “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?”

Despite qualifying for the event, Ofili claimed that the officials did not enter her, which she says is a repeat of the previous Olympics in Tokyo 2020. She added, “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 to not compete. Now this……”

“If those responsible are not held accountable for taking this opportunity from me, neither organisation can ever be trusted in the future! Next one is the 200 metres. I hope I’m entered.” In response to anger directed at officials, the Technical Director of the AFN Samuel Onikeku wrote on Facebook that they are not responsible for the huge administrative error. "We registered Ofili for the 100m, 200m, and 4x100mrelay. We don't know how her name got missing in the 100m. This is our stand asa federation," he said in a statement. Ofili ran 11.06s at the Nigerian Olympic trials in Benin City to secure her place among the 56 Nigerian athletes competing at the Paris Olympics.

Ofili is one of the talented newcomers set to make her Olympic debut in Paris. With an impressive track record, she has secured a Top 8 finish at the World Championships, a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, and a championship title at the African Games.

Additionally, Ofili is a former World U20 champion and African Senior Athletics Championships champion in the 200m. Her current world rankings are 23rd in the 100m and 52nd in the 200m, with personal bests of 13th in the 200m, 23rd in the 100m, and 37th in the 400m.

In May, Ofili demonstrated her exceptional talent and dedication by breaking three records in just one month. The AFN’s 'negligence' has sparked outrage, prompting calls for accountability and reforms to prevent future disappointments for Nigerian athletes.