Nigeria will miss the 2025 World Athletics Relays after the Chinese embassy denied visas to the entire national relay team, forcing their withdrawal from the crucial qualifying event.
The competition, set to take place from May 10–11 in Guangzhou, China, doubles as a key qualifier for the 2025 World Championships. Without Nigeria’s participation, the event will miss out on several of Africa’s top sprinting talents.
Visa Denial Grounds Star-Studded Nigerian Squad
Track and Field Gazette reported that Team Nigeria planned to field one of its strongest relay squads in recent years. The lineup included world 100m hurdles record holder Tobi Amusan and American collegiate sprint star Favour Ashe.
Alaba Akintola, Karlington Anunagba, Favour Ashe, and Udodi Onwuzurike formed a formidable quartet that made the men’s 4x100m relay team highly anticipated.
Their absence is a major blow, particularly after Nigeria’s recent success in relay events. At the 2024 World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas, Nigeria’s mixed 4x400m team made history by breaking the African Record with a National Record time of 3:12.87. Their 4th-place finish secured a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
World Championships Qualification in Jeopardy
The World Athletics Relays act as a primary qualification route for relay teams to the World Championships. Nigeria’s forced withdrawal means its relay squads could now face a more challenging path to securing a place at the global meet, impacting their international rankings and competitive opportunities.
The incident also reignites conversations around visa restrictions and travel barriers that disproportionately affect athletes from developing countries, especially in critical, high-profile events.
With Nigeria out of contention, the focus now shifts to how the country’s athletics federation will address this setback ahead of future competitions.
