Nigeria finally pulls out of World Relays, as AFN blames Chinese for Visa delay
The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has announced withdrawal of Team Nigeria from the 2025 World Relays in Guangzhou,
China, over delays in visa issuance for the 2-day competition.
In a press release on Friday, AFN President Chief Tonobok Okowa stated that the Visa issuance happened on the day Team Nigeria was scheduled to arrive in Guangzhou which made Nigeria’s participation impossible.
The federation he said, made available all required documents demanded by the Chinese authorities, yet , Team Nigeria could not participate.
The requirements are as follows,
Excessive and Discriminatory Requirements: Chinese authorities imposed
visa requirements that far exceeded international sporting norms, including
demands for documentation that was particularly burdensome for Nigerian
nationals.
Deliberate Processing Delays: Despite our athletes submitting passport
applications at Chinese Embassies in Washington DC, Berlin, and Abuja on
April 25, 2025, two weeks before the competition Chinese authorities
delayed processing without reasonable explanation.
The Chinese visa system’s requirement for a special “Verification Letter of Invitation” was poorly communicated and
inconsistently applied, with LOC officials themselves unclear about their
own procedures.
Inexplicable Final Delay: Even after all documentation was finally accepted
as complete, Chinese authorities held the applications for additional days
without justification, only to issue the visas on May 8 the very day the team needed to be in China
