The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) has dismissed Athletics Integrity Unity’s (AIU) appeal against the clearance of Tobi Amusan’s anti-doping rule violation.

The court announced the decision in a statement published on its website on Friday.

In July 2023, AIU handed Amusan a provisional suspension for allegedly “missing three tests in 12 months”.

The case was transferred to a disciplinary tribunal. A month later, a “majority decision” of the tribunal ruled that the 27-year-old “has not committed an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) of three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period.”

Amusan was cleared of the charge by the disciplinary tribunal.

Later that year, AIU announced that it had filed an appeal against the tribunal’s decision before CAS.

In its ruling on the case, CAS judged that although Amusan “committed two filing failures,” the appellant “did not confirm the existence” of a third missed test “which would have been the third whereabouts failure committed within a 12-month period”.

The court ruled that the athlete did not violate any Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) rule and that the “challenged decision should be confirmed.”

“The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeals filed by World Athletics (WA) and by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the decision issued on 17 August 2023 (the Challenged Decision) by the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal (WADT) in relation to the hurdler Oluwatobiloba (Tobi) Amusan (Nigeria),” the statement reads.

“In their respective appeal to CAS, WA and WADA had sought the imposition of a two-year period of ineligibility. The CAS Panel held a hearing on 19 January 2024. Having deliberated, the CAS Panel has issued its decision today dismissing both appeals. The CAS Panel unanimously acknowledged that the athlete committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a missed test, alleged by WA and WADA, which would have been the third Whereabouts Failure committed within a 12-month period. Accordingly, the CAS Panel concluded that the athlete did not commit an ADRV and that the Challenged Decision should be confirmed.”

With the latest decision, Amusan is cleared and is expected to represent Nigeria at the Paris Olympics next month.

Players of the Super Eagles and the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation have yet to agree on how the $4 Million prize money received from Confederation of African Football, for reaching the final of 2023 AFCON will be shared.

The players have demanded 30% of this prize money, which comes down to $1.2 Million, while the NFF are pleading with them to take 25%, which is a Million Dollars.

“There is no agreement yet between the players and the NFF on how the prize money should be shared,” a top official said.

“The mistake was that there was no agreement about this before the tournament, but at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt, where the team finished third, the boys got 30% of the prize money CAF paid to the NFF.”

CAF paid the AFCON prize money to the NFF last month. It was previously reported that some of the players openly accused captain Ahmed Musa of not doing enough to ensure they are paid what they are entitled to.

This latest pay row should not be confused with the 12 Billion Naira generously approved by President Bola Tinubu in January to clear outstanding bonuses and allowances dating back to 2021.

Peter Odemwingie, a former Super Eagles attacker, has joined the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA).

PGA announced the admission of Odemwingie into its ranks in a video on Tuesday.

The association is the body that organises tours for professional golfers around the globe.

Speaking on his induction, the former Super Eagles attacker said he fell in love with golf during the latter days of his football career.

He highlighted the difficulty of adapting to the “loneliness” of golf after his career in a “group sport”.

“I’m really proud of all of myself and my friends who are graduating today as well. It is a long journey. I fell in love with the game,” Odemwingie said.

“I play lots of pro-ams as an amateur. I am coming from a football background. I had a decent-level career in a group sport. Now I am in a different sport, sometimes you can be lonely in golf — just you and your caddie, if you have one.

“And seeing what the PGA professionals enjoy. I pass the playing ability test, I was accepted on the programme and I was excited that day as I am today.”

Odemwingie, born in Uzbekistan to a Russian mother and a Nigerian father, made his Super Eagles debut in 2002. He made 63 appearances for the men’s national team.

He featured for Nigeria in the 2014 World Cup, scoring against Bosnia Hezergovania in the group stage to secure the country’s promotion to the round of 16.

Odemwingie began his football career at Bendel Insurance before moving to Europe with La Louvre FC, then Lille and Lokomotiv Moscow.

He then joined West Brom, Cardiff City, and Stoke City in the English Premier League (EPL).

Odemwingie retired from football in 2019.