Nigerian sprint sensation, Favour Ashe has reportedly changed his sporting nationality to represent Qatar.
Ashe, the latest athlete to switch allegiance from Nigeria, explained the reasons behind his decision in a recent interview with The Guardian.
“This is not to rubbish what Nigeria has done for us over the years, but I must say some of the people managing our sports do not human feelings.
Last year, I decided to take part in the National Sports Festival. I thought my presence was to add colour to the event, but it turned out to be a wrong decision based on the way and manner the people treated me
It was like I was just begging to be part of Nigeria athletics. That is wrong. You don’t threat people that way and expect the best from them.
“Beside, taking my athletics to Nigeria was a bit setback. I was struggling to meet up in everything in training because the track was not up to standard. Now, I have completed my study in the United States, and I can no longer make use of the College facilities for training. I just have to move.”
He also revealed that he has been in Qatar for the past five months and was surprised by the number of young Nigerian athletes already training there.
“I am very sure we will form a formidable 4x100m relays team for Qatar,” he said.
In 2025, one of Nigeria’s leading female sprinters, Favour Ofili, switched allegiance to Turkey after citing ill treatment by officials of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
