Folayemi Akinyosoye, a former fencer for Great Britain (GB), has recently sworn allegiance to Nigeria and renounced his British citizenship in a surprising move.
As fencing began to gain popularity in Nigeria, Akinyosoye, a well-known figure in British youth fencing for the previous six years, decided to take this stand by switching nationality.
The customary three-year non-compete clause was waived for Akinyosoye in an acceptance letter dated August 1, 2024, and signed by Georgina Usher, CEO of British Fencing.
The letter stated, “By FIE regulations 1.4.3, this letter is from the former federation (Great Britain) accepting the transfer request and agreeing to waive the 3-year non-compete period.”
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It further confirmed, “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.”
While throwing more light on his decision, Akinyosoye stated that he wants to represent Nigeria because of his connections to the country where his family roots originate.
He said; “I would like to represent Nigeria because of my connections to Nigeria. It’s 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 added: “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.”
