United States-based sprinter, Favour Ashe, has become the latest top athlete to turn his back on Nigeria, opting instead to continue his career under the Qatari flag.
Ashe, widely regarded as Nigeria’s fastest sprinter in recent years, confirmed that he has been in Qatar for the past five months and is preparing to switch allegiance.
Speaking to The Guardian, he described the Nigerian athletics environment as unfavourable to his growth, saying he is heading to a system where he will be respected and adequately rewarded.
The 9.79 seconds personal best holder expressed frustration over his treatment at the National Sports Festival in Abeokuta, where he was disqualified from the 100m final, an incident that reportedly left him embittered.
“The Qatar federation is taking us to South Africa to begin our season there. This is something Nigeria will never do,” Ashe said, adding that several young Nigerians are already in Qatar’s Olympic training programme and are well catered for.
He warned that more athletes could follow suit, revealing that many are considering switching allegiance to countries that offer better compensation and year-round competitive opportunities.
Another sprinter, Sunday Akintan, who recently clocked an impressive 6.48 seconds indoors, is also said to have switched to Qatar as the country builds a formidable 4x100m relay team anchored by Nigerian talents.
Ashe represented Team Delta at the last National Sports Festival, but officials of the Delta State Sports Commission said they were unaware of his move. It remains unclear whether he benefited from any training grants from the National Sports Commission this year.
His exit mirrors that of Favour Ofili, who last year switched allegiance to Turkey, citing ill treatment by officials of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria during the Paris Olympics.
