British fencer, Folayemi Akinyosoye, has pledged his allegiance to Nigeria, leaving behind his representation of Great Britain.
Akinyosoye, who has been a prominent figure in British junior fencing for the past six years, made this decision as fencing gains momentum in Nigeria.
His transfer request was also granted by the British Fencing with a waiver of the usual three-year non-compete period.
“On behalf of British Fencing, I write to confirm that British Fencing has no objection to the athlete (Folayemi Akinyosoye) changing their FIE nationality and that we waive any non-compete period,” British Fencing CEO Georgina Usher wrote in an acceptance letter dated August 1, 2024.
The 20-year-old expressed his excitement about the switch, particularly about Nigeria’s prospect of competing at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“I would like to represent Nigeria because of my personal connections to Nigeria, where my family roots originate, so there is a desire to contribute to the development of the sport, which is in its early stages in Nigeria. I also hope that representing Nigeria might provide a unique platform to promote Sabre Fencing and inspire other young Nigerians to take an interest in the sport,” Akinyosoye said via Nigeria Fencing Media.
“I am very excited to represent Nigeria and cannot wait to work with the Nigerian fencing federation to bring my fencing to the next level,” she added.
President of the Nigeria Fencing Federation, Adeyinka Samuel, welcomed Akinyosoye’s decision, highlighting the positive impact on the sport’s development in Nigeria.
“We are so excited that the work we have done in the last few years is yielding positive results with the decision by Akinyosoye to fence for Nigeria. This again shows that we are doing something right to improve the fortune of the sport, and we hope that we can have a strong team that will compete for places at the 2028 Olympic Games. We can’t wait to have him represent Nigeria in an international tournament and mix up with others already in the team,” Samuel said.
