The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), has announced plans to curb age falsification and poor athlete data management, with the launch of a new initiative tagged “Roster Athletics”.
The Chairman, AFN Media Committee, Maxwell Kumoye, said this in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos. Kumoye quoted the AFN President, Tonobok Okowa, as describing the partnership as a major turning point.
He said it aimed at restoring credibility, transparency and global confidence in Nigerian athletics. Okowa was quoted as commended the initiative, describing it as a bold step to protect athletes and address persistent criticism.
“For too long, negative narratives have overshadowed the achievements of our athletes,” he said. “This partnership provides irrefutable documentation and international-standard verification.”
“It will showcase Nigerian athletics with the credibility it deserves. The federation will also introduce a compulsory athlete licensing system as part of its reform efforts.”
“Every registered athlete will now have a unique AFN licence number throughout their career, renewed annually and fully integrated into international athletics databases.
“The new system will ensure permanent athlete identification, transparent age documentation, complete career tracking and eliminate identity manipulation,” Okowa added.
AFN Secretary-General, Israel Inwang, who brokered the plan said that the partnership was beyond the adoption of technology, stressing that it was targeted at restoring confidence and ensuring fairness in the sport.
“We will see the immediate deployment of the Roster Athletics competition management platform across all AFN championships,” he added.
“The initiative will introduce a secure, verifiable and tamper-proof system designed to permanently address long-standing concerns over age discrepancies.”
“This partnership is not just about technology; it is about restoring confidence and ensuring fairness. We are taking concrete action to eliminate any doubt about our athletes’ credentials and our commitment to clean sport.”
“The platform will also be extended beyond national championships to state associations, clubs and competition organisers nationwide, including road race organisers.”
“Features of the platform include secure online registration, automated seeding, real-time results integration, live competition tracking and professional meet management tools,” the statement said.
Inwang further stated that the federation was shifting from a reactive to a proactive approach.
“Instead of reacting to criticism, we are building systems that make such criticism obsolete,” he concluded.
He urged all AFN affiliated bodies to start using the platform immediately to usher in the beginning of a new era of integrity, modernisation and accountability in Nigerian athletics.