Athletics
BOLT: I WOULD LOVE TO PLAY FOOTBALL NOW
It is an open secret that Jamaican former sprinter, Usain Bolt is passionate about football apart from being an iconic athlete. The website of football governing body, fifa.com describes him as quite simply, the best sprinter of all time.
Of course, his medal-haul at the Olympic Games speak volume. With two gold medals in 100 metres and 200 metres at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, followed by a hat-trick of gold medals at each of London 2012 and Rio 2016 (adding the 4 x 100 metres relay sprint gold at both events) the Jamaican had unprecedented success in his discipline for around a decade.
The athletics legend made a slightly left-field promise during his track and field career: that he would take up football after hanging up his sprinting cleats. Having recently retired from the sport which he conquered, FIFA.com caught up with Bolt in an exclusive interview to discuss his love of football, his picks for this year’s The Best FIFA Football Awards, and what it takes to be the best.
FIFA.com: You were 11 years old when Jamaica played at their only FIFA World Cup to date, at France 1998. How much of that do you remember? Does anything notable stand out from that tournament?
Usain Bolt: I can never forget when we qualified for the World Cup as our Prime Minster declared a national holiday. I remember our first goal at the World Cup too, Robbie Earle with that header against Croatia. Then in the final game Theodore Whitmore scored twice in the win against Japan.
Now you’ve retired from sprinting, will you look to get involved in football at some level? If so, how?
Yes, I would love to play football now I’ve retired from track and field. I’ve been talking about it in interviews and a lot of clubs have reached out. Unfortunately, I got a bad hamstring injury in August and haven’t been able to do any training since then. Hopefully I will be able to play some games in 2018.
Did you ever play football with other athletes when training or in camp?
I play a lot in Jamaica over the winter. It wasn’t something that my coach liked but fortunately I didn’t get any injuries playing football that interrupted my athletics training.
Footballers around the globe have to vote for a World11 from the past season (2016/17). What would be your World11 for 2016/17, and why?
There are so many great players, it’s not an easy team to pick! Obviously I’d have Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar leading the attack. I’ll put Gigi Buffon in goal. In defence I’ll go for Sergio Ramos and Leonardo Bonucci in the middle with Marcelo and Dani Alves as full backs. In midfield: Paul Pogba, Ngolo Kante and Philippe Coutinho.
The top three for The Best FIFA Men’s Player award are Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar – who’s your pick for number one and why?
I would go for Ronaldo. All three are amazing players but in the last year Cristiano won La Liga, the Champions League again and finished top scorer for the fifth season. His ability to stay at the top year after year is very impressive.
The three candidates for the Mens’ Coach award are Massimiliano Allegri, Antonio Conte and Zinedine Zidane. If you were a player, which of the three would you want to be coached by and why?
I would love to play for Zidane. I really admired him as a player and he has made the transition to coach very well. He’s won five major trophies in five tournaments.
There’s an award for The Best FIFA Goalkeeper this year. Who do you think is the best keeper in the world at the moment and why?
Gianluigi Buffon. He’s almost 40 years old but very difficult to score against. Good goalkeepers give the players in front of them confidence and nobody would have a problem playing in front of Buffon. I met him recently at an event and he sent me a nice message when I retired.
The FIFA Puskás Award rewards the best goal of 2016/17. Which of the finalists would get your vote and why?
I’d vote for Oscarine Masuluke. For a goalkeeper to score an overhead kick in stoppage time like that is impressive.
Who would you choose between Deyna Castellanos, Carli Lloyd and Lieke Martens for the Women’s Player award and why?
My vote would go to Lieke Martens. She led Holland to that European Championship win and was Player of the Tournament.
What makes London such a special city, and what does it mean to you?
I’ve been coming to London every year for the past 15 years. It’s become like my second home as I normally base myself in the city during the track and field season. There are a lot of Jamaicans living in London and I always get great support when I race there.
As you can tell from the names of the awards, FIFA are looking to recognise ‘The Best’. From someone who has risen to the top of their profession – can you give some insight into what it takes to be the best, and the sacrifices it takes to get there?
It takes talent, discipline, dedication and hard work. I believe that everyone who is considered one of the best has worked extremely hard to get there. To be successful at the highest level there are sacrifices you have to make in terms of parties, friends and getting rest.
If you were to give advice to any young boy or girl who is determined to be the best in the world at their chosen sport, be that football, sprinting or another sport, what would it be?
Choose the right people to have around you and advise you, be determined, work hard, believe in yourself, success doesn’t always come overnight so be consistent and the results will come. I have a motto: ‘Anything is possible’.
World Athletics plans to launch a standalone World Marathon Championship from 2030 under a major overhaul of its distance-running calendar, the sport’s governing body said on Tuesday.
The marathon will remain part of the World Championships in 2027 and 2029, but from 2030 it will have its own championship event.
From 2031, the marathon will not be contested at the World Championships.
The new World Marathon Championship will be held annually, with men and women competing in alternate years, matching the current frequency of the World Championships marathon.
World Athletics has opened talks with Athens to host the inaugural marathon event.
“We are delighted to be exploring the possibility of a standalone World Marathon Championships with Athens, the place where this iconic discipline was born,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said.
The annual Road Running Championships will continue as a separate event under the new roadmap.
-Reuters
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The proposed switch of allegiance by Nigerian sprint star Favour Ofili to Türkiye has hit a major obstacle, with Nigerian sports authorities insisting that the 23-year-old remains eligible to compete for Nigeria.
Ofili announced in September on her Instagram account, followed by more than 40,000 people, that she was beginning “a new chapter representing Türkiye,” signalling her intention to change sporting nationality after years of representing the Nigeria national athletics team.
“I moved to Türkiye to save my career from officials,” the U.S.-based sprinter later wrote, explaining that her decision was influenced by frustrations with Nigeria’s sporting administration.
However, nearly six months after the announcement, Ofili has yet to compete for her new country, and the process appears stalled.
A senior official of the National Sports Commission told reporters in February that Ofili is still considered a Nigerian athlete and cannot immediately switch allegiance.
“She is still our athlete,” the official said, adding that Ofili was among the elite athletes who received training scholarships from the commission last year.
According to the official, if the sprinter intends to compete for another country, she may have to wait until September 2028, potentially ruling out a change before the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Career Frustrations
Ofili’s rapid rise in athletics has been accompanied by several controversies that have strained her relationship with Nigeria’s sporting authorities.
At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, she was among Nigerian athletes barred from competing after failing to meet required out-of-competition doping control tests.
Ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, she also revealed she had been excluded from the women’s 100-metre event despite qualifying.
“It is with great sadness that I have just been informed that I will not be competing in the 100-metre dash at these Games,” she wrote at the time. “I qualified, but those in charge did not register me. I have worked for four years to earn this opportunity.”
Debate Over Loyalty
The controversy has sparked debate within Nigeria’s athletics community.
Former African sprint queen Mary Onyali recently said she rejected offers from European countries to compete under their flags during her career because of her loyalty to Nigeria.
Ofili responded by suggesting the circumstances were different, noting that Onyali “was never denied the opportunity to compete in any competition after working hard to qualify.”
Speaking through her coach, Dennis Shaver, Ofili also dismissed speculation that financial incentives were the main motivation for her proposed move.
“I am a woman, and I have a short-term job,” she said. “This is the ideal time to make the most of the time I have left in my career.”
Türkiye’s Recruitment Drive
Ofili’s case comes amid an aggressive talent recruitment drive by Türkiye aimed at strengthening its athletics programme ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics.
Following a disappointing performance at the Paris Games, where the country finished 64th in the medal table without a gold medal, Turkish authorities launched a strategy to recruit top athletes from abroad.
According to athletics coordinator Önder Özbilen, several international athletes have already agreed to compete for Türkiye.
Among them are four Jamaican athletes, including Olympic discus champion Roje Stona, as well as five Kenyan runners, including former marathon world-record holder Brigid Kosgei.
Whether Ofili will ultimately join them remains uncertain.
For now, the Port Harcourt-born sprinter remains officially tied to Nigeria, leaving unresolved the question of which flag she might carry on the road to the Los Angeles Olympics.
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Athletics
World Athletics Nullifies Junior Records of Three Ethiopian Runners Over Age Irregularities
World Athletics has refused to ratify several junior world records set by three Ethiopian distance runners after an investigation uncovered irregularities in their dates of birth.
The decision follows a probe by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), which determined that the real ages of Birke Haylom, Melknat Wudu and Medina Eisa could not be conclusively verified when the records were set between 2023 and 2024.
The ruling means several outstanding under-20 performances by the trio will no longer stand as official world junior records.
Among the affected marks are Haylom’s world under-20 bests in the mile (4:17.13), indoor 1,500 metres (3:58.43) and outdoor 5,000 metres (14:23.71). Wudu’s junior indoor 3,000 metres record of 8:32.34 has also been invalidated, while Eisa’s 5,000 metres time of 14:21.89—previously recognised as the world junior best—has been struck from the record books.
Investigators confirmed that Eisa’s actual birth date is 17 October 2002, rather than 3 January 2005 as previously documented. The finding means she was 22 when she won gold in the 5,000 metres at the 2024 World Under-20 Championships, well above the age limit for the junior category.
The AIU also concluded that Haylom was older than indicated in her official documents, although details of the discrepancy were not publicly disclosed. In Wudu’s case, unresolved doubts about her birth date prevented the ratification of her record.
Under championship rules, athletes competing in under-20 events must be 19 or younger during the competition year and must provide verifiable documentation confirming their eligibility.
While the athletes’ performances remain valid as competition results, they cannot be recognised as junior records.
The investigation forms part of a wider age-verification campaign by the AIU in East African athletics ahead of the next 2026 World Under-20 Championships in the United States.
So far, World Athletics has not announced disciplinary sanctions against the athletes, although AIU regulations allow bans of between two and four years in proven cases of age manipulation.
The removal of the five records marks a significant setback for performances that had previously placed the runners among the most promising young talents in global distance running.
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