Age Fraud: AFN Bans 21 Athletes

Age Fraud: AFN Bans 21 Athletes

Sampson Adedeji

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has imposed sweeping sanctions on 21 athletes, alongside coaches and two state athletics associations, following the conclusion of a special investigation into age falsification at the 2025 African U-18 and U-20 Championships held in Abeokuta, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

The investigation panel, constituted on December 9, 2025, was set up to examine allegations of age discrepancies involving young Nigerian athletes earlier flagged by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of World Athletics on December 2, 2025.

In its findings, the panel confirmed widespread violations, stating that several athletes registered and participated in competitions using inconsistent ages without any legitimate explanation.

“The Committee finds that the following athletes did, in fact, register and/or participate in competitions with different ages without any legitimate explanation other than they were registered by their coach, teammate, or state,” the panel informed a Punch correspondent.

At the state level, Ogun State and Delta State were singled out for having multiple athletes with confirmed age discrepancies.

According to the report, several of the affected athletes had previously been queried by the AIU and were either representing, training in, or being coached from the two states.

As part of its recommendations, the panel proposed a fine of ₦2.5 million for each of the implicated states, a public reprimand by the AFN, and the possibility of suspension from future Youth Games or National Sports Festival events should further violations occur.

The panel also advised the federation to immediately establish a centralised age-verification and athlete registry system, introduce mandatory annual age-eligibility audits for youth competitions, and enforce a compulsory code of conduct for athletes, coaches, and Secretariat staff.

Following the report, the AFN confirmed that the recommendations had been implemented.

In a statement signed by the Chairman of the AFN Media Committee, Maxwell Kumoye, the federation made it clear that strict accountability measures were now in force.

“Sanctions were wide-ranging and severe. Athletes found guilty were disqualified, results were wiped from the books, and periods of ineligibility were imposed,” the statement read.

 “Coaches and support personnel who enabled or facilitated violations were also sanctioned, while states with a history of age cheating did not escape scrutiny.”

The AFN reiterated its commitment to restoring credibility to Nigerian athletics, stressing that age fraud would no longer be tolerated at any level of competition.