World Athletics blocks 11 athlete transfer requests to Turkiye

Brigid Kosgei of Kenya crosses the finish line in second place in the women's 2025 Sydney Marathon [Bianca di Marchi/EPA]

A World Athletics panel has refused 11 allegiance transfer requests to ‌Turkiye over ⁠what it called a “coordinated ⁠recruitment strategy” by the Turkish government to attract overseas athletes with lucrative contracts, the sport’s governing body has said.

The requests came from five Kenyan ⁠athletes, including former women’s marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei, and four Jamaicans, including Olympic discus gold medallist Roje Stona and Olympic shot put bronze medallist Rajindra Campbell.

Nigerian sprinter ⁠Favour Ofili and Russian heptathlete Sophia Yakushina were the other two requests.

The World Athletics Nationality Review Panel said it considered that approval of these applications would compromise eligibility rules and transfer of allegiance regulations.

“The panel found that the applications formed part of a coordinated recruitment ‌strategy led by the Turkiye government acting through a wholly-owned and financed government club, to attract overseas athletes through lucrative contracts,” World Athletics said in a statement.

“With the aim of facilitating transfers of allegiance and enabling those athletes to represent Turkiye at future international competitions, including the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.”

World Athletics’ transfer of allegiance regulations include criteria aimed at ensuring a genuine connection between the athlete and the country ⁠they represent and to protect the integrity, credibility and development ⁠of the sport globally.

The rules were tightened in 2019, with World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe saying some cases of young athletes switching allegiance were akin to human trafficking.

Turkiye’s team at the 2016 European Championships featured seven ⁠athletes from Kenya, two from Jamaica, an Ethiopian, a Cuban, a Ukrainian, a South African and an Azerbaijani.

Ramil Guliyev, representing Turkiye after ⁠switching allegiance from Azerbaijan, won the 200 metres gold ⁠at the 2017 World Championships.

Qatar has also used financial incentives to attract foreign athletes such as Egypt-born weightlifter Fares Ibrahim Hassouna who won Qatar’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in 2021.

Winfred Yavi switched allegiance from Kenya to ‌Bahrain at the age of 15, going on to win Olympic and world gold medals in the 3,000-metre steeplechase.

World Athletics said its refusal to grant the allegiance transfer ‌requests ‌does not prevent the 11 athletes from competing in one-day meetings or road races in a personal or club capacity or from living and training in Turkiye.