Athletes from Kenya, Nigeria and Jamaica have had their “recruitment” applications rejected by the Turkiye government.
Published April 17, 2026
A World Athletics committee rejected 11 loyalty transfer requests to Turkiye, the sport’s governing body said, citing what it called a “coordinated recruitment strategy” by the Turkish government to lure foreign athletes with lucrative contracts.
The request came from five Kenyan athletes, including former women’s marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei, and four Jamaicans, including Olympic discus gold medalist Roger Stona and Olympic shot put bronze medalist Rajindra Campbell.
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The other two requests were Nigerian sprinter Favar Ofili and Russian heptathlete Sofia Yakshina.
The World Athletics Nationality Review Board said it believed that if these applications were approved, eligibility rules and transfer of allegiance rules would be compromised.
“The commission found that these applications are part of a coordinated recruitment strategy led by the Turkiye government, operating through fully-funded and funded government clubs, to attract overseas players through lucrative contracts,” World Athletics said in a statement.
“The aim is to facilitate a transfer of loyalty and enable these athletes to represent Turkiye in future international competitions, including the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.”
World Athletics’ Transfer of Loyalty Regulations include standards aimed at ensuring a genuine connection between athletes and the countries they represent, and protecting the integrity, credibility and development of sport on a global scale.
The rules were tightened in 2019, with World Athletics president Sebastian Coe saying some cases of young athletes changing allegiance were akin to human trafficking.
Turkiye’s team for the 2016 European Championships included seven players from Kenya, two from Jamaica, an Ethiopian, a Cuban, a Ukrainian, a South African and one from Azerbaijan.
Ramil Guliyev, who switched allegiance from Azerbaijan to represent Turkiye, won gold in the 200 meters at the 2017 World Championships.
Qatar is also using financial incentives to attract foreign athletes, such as Egyptian-born weightlifter Fares Ibrahim Hassouna, who won Qatar’s first ever gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Winfred Yabi switched allegiance from Kenya to Bahrain at the age of 15 and went on to win Olympic and world gold medals in the 3,000m hurdles.
World Athletics said its refusal to grant the allegiance transfer request would not prevent the 11 athletes from competing in one-day meetings or road races in an individual or club capacity, or from living and training in Turkje.
