A World Athletics panel has rejected 11 applications from athletes seeking to transfer their sporting allegiance to Turkey, citing what it described as a “coordinated recruitment strategy” by the Turkish government.
Among those denied were five Kenyan athletes including former women’s marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei and four Jamaicans. The panel warned that approving the requests would undermine eligibility rules designed to preserve the integrity of national representation. These regulations, tightened in 2017, require athletes to demonstrate a genuine connection to the country they compete for.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has previously criticized questionable transfers, likening some cases to human trafficking. Turkey’s track record includes recruiting several Kenyan and Jamaican athletes for its 2016 team, while sprinter Ramon Guliyev famously won the 200m gold in 2017 after switching allegiance from Azerbaijan. Similar strategies have been seen elsewhere, with Qatar offering financial incentives to attract foreign talent.
