Team Nigeria’s 4x100m men’s relay team

Kindly share this story:

World Athletics has distanced itself from blame over the visa delays that affected Nigeria’s participation at this year’s World Relays, which holds on Saturday (today) and Sunday in Guangzhou, China, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria on Friday announced its withdrawal from the event, which will also serve as a qualifier for the World Championships in Tokyo later this year.

“Our athletes submitted all required documentation in good faith and well in advance, yet were subjected to delays and obstacles that made participation impossible,” AFN president Tonobok Okowa said in a statement.

“The timing of this visa issuance on the very day our team was scheduled to arrive in China can only be interpreted as either gross administrative incompetence or a deliberate attempt to exclude Nigerian athletes from the World Relays.

“While we acknowledge that visas have finally been issued, this action comes far too late to be meaningful.

The 48+ hours of travel time required to reach Guangzhou from our athletes’ current locations would result in arrival after key events have concluded.

This is not a viable competitive scenario for athletes who have trained for years for this opportunity.

“We call on World Athletics to review host country selection criteria to ensure future competitions are held in nations with visa processes that truly support global participation.”

Related News

Director-General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade, also exonerated the AFN and the NSC from the mishap in a statement before the visas were granted.

In response to The PUNCH’s reportage of the visa delay and Nigeria’s withdrawal, World Athletics maintained that the process and requirements were clearly stated.

“Visa entry criteria differ from country to country. The Local Organising Committee for World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25 has always been very clear with all stakeholders regarding the specific requirements to acquire a VISA in time for the competition and have been extremely collaborative throughout the process,” WA said in a statement sent to The PUNCH by its Communications Manager, Maphuti Hlako.

“Following the correct VISA process and timelines is of paramount importance for all stakeholders to ensure their VISAs are issued in time, and as far as we have been informed, no VISAs were denied to athletes or support personnel from either Nigeria or the Dominican Republic.”

When asked if The AFN made an early indication of the challenges, WA said, “No early indication from AFN and, in fact, a number of AFN athletes and officials received visas.

For any member federation who identifies problems, both the LOC and World Athletics work closely with them to address the issues.

This is a well established process which has been in place for many years.”

As other countries compete in China for 14 of the 16 relay spots in Tokyo, the AFN also pledged to pursue appropriate compensation for financial losses incurred.