Overview
- The World Athletics Nationality Review Panel refused 11 applications on Thursday, calling Türkiye’s push a coordinated, state-run recruitment drive led through the government club Istanbul Gençlik Spor Kulübü to build a team for Los Angeles 2028.
- Those denied include Olympic medalists Rojé Stona, Wayne Pinnock, and Rajindra Campbell from Jamaica, Kenya’s former marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei, and Russia’s Sophia Yakushina.
- Eligibility is limited to one-day and club competitions, with no national-team representation allowed at events such as the Olympics or World Championships.
- In Favour Ofili’s case, the panel noted her Turkish citizenship and a $10,000-per-month club contract offer but said her ties to Türkiye were not strong enough and referred her safety concerns to safeguarding processes.
- The Türkiye Athletics Federation has 30 days to seek reconsideration and may later appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, a next step that follows transfer rules tightened in 2019 to deter transactional nationality switches.