Favour Ashe, Nigeria’s seventh-fastest man in the 100 metres, has formally switched his international allegiance to Qatar, citing poor treatment, inadequate facilities, and limited opportunities in Nigeria as major factors behind his decision.
The 100m specialist, whose personal best of 9.94 seconds places him among Nigeria’s elite sprinters, confirmed the move in a statement released Monday. Ashe disclosed that he has been training in Qatar for the past five months and expressed confidence about contributing to a strong Qatari 4x100m relay team.
“I was not treated properly at the 2025 National Sports Festival,” Ashe said. “Those managing athletics in Nigeria showed no human feeling. Returning my career to Nigeria was a setback. I struggled to train due to substandard track facilities, and having completed my studies in the United States, I could no longer access college training facilities.”
He added: “I am very sure we will form a formidable 4x100m relay team for Qatar,” noting the unexpectedly large number of young Nigerian athletes already training in the Gulf nation.
The transfer has not yet received approval from World Athletics. Under current regulations, Ashe must observe a three-year waiting period from his last appearance for Nigeria, making him ineligible to compete for Qatar until after 2027 unless an exception is granted.
Ashe’s move reflects a growing trend of Nigerian track and field athletes seeking better opportunities abroad amid persistent challenges in the domestic system, including inadequate infrastructure, inconsistent funding, and administrative issues.
He joins a list of Nigerian athletes who have chosen to represent other countries, including fellow sprinter Favour Ofili, who recently switched allegiance to Turkey.
Reacting to the development, Tonobok Okowa, President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, said the federation was unaware of Ashe’s reported nationality switch and would begin investigating athletes’ statuses.
“I don’t know either. I just saw the news as well, but we will investigate that beginning tomorrow (Monday),” he said.
