World Athletics has rejected 11 requests by athletes seeking to switch allegiance to Turkey, saying the applications were part of a coordinated government-backed recruitment drive that risked undermining the integrity of the sport’s nationality rules. The decision is one of the strongest interventions yet by the global governing body against the increasingly controversial practice of countries attracting foreign athletes through financial incentives.
Among those affected were five Kenyan athletes, including former women’s marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei, as well as four Jamaicans. The other two athletes named in reports were Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili and Russian heptathlete Sophia Yakushina. World Athletics said its Nationality Review Panel found that approving the applications would “impinge upon and compromise” the principles behind eligibility and transfer-of-allegiance rules.
According to World Athletics, the panel concluded that the applications formed part of “a coordinated recruitment strategy” led by the Turkish government through a fully state-owned and financed club, which was offering lucrative contracts to athletes from abroad. The rules require athletes seeking to represent a new country to demonstrate a genuine connection to that nation, rather than simply change allegiance for financial or competitive reasons.
The ruling reflects a tougher line adopted by the sport in recent years. World Athletics tightened its transfer rules in 2019 after widespread concern that some nationality switches were being driven by money rather than identity or residence. At the time, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said some cases amounted to “human trafficking,” a remark that captured growing unease over the treatment of athletes as transferable assets in pursuit of medals.
Turkey has a history of recruiting foreign-born athletes. At the 2016 Olympics, its athletics team included several Kenyan-born runners and two Jamaicans. A year later, Ramil Guliyev, who had switched allegiance from Azerbaijan, won the men’s 200 metres gold medal for Turkey at the World Championships in London. Other countries, including Qatar and Bahrain, have also long faced scrutiny over similar strategies.
Although the 11 athletes will not be allowed to compete internationally for Turkey, they may still be able to live there and compete in road races or domestic club events. But the decision sends a wider message: World Athletics is determined to protect the credibility of national representation and stop countries from building teams through what it sees as organised talent shopping.
