Nigerian athletes were disallowed from participating in the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships 2021 holding in Abu Dhabi, The PUNCH exclusively gathered.
The athletes and their representatives claimed that they were denied access to participate in the competition by authorities of the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
According to the athletes, they arrived in UAE from European countries, not Nigeria but were denied the opportunity to represent their fatherland.
“On sighting our Nigerian passports, the UAE officials treated us with disdain,” a female athlete lamented.
Among the athletes affected are Philip Adejumo and Abiola Ogunbanwo.