US refuses visas for members of Senegal’s women’s basketball team, says its PM
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Senegal Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko told his country’s minister of sports to cancel what was to have been a 10-day training camp in the US.
PHOTO: AFP
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DAKAR – The United States rejected visa applications for members of Senegal’s women’s basketball team which was scheduled to train in the US, according to Dakar officials, as Washington tightens border controls
The tense border situation has caused consternation for some athletes and fans who plan to attend the 2026 Fifa World Cup and the 2028 Olympics in the United States.
Senegal is among 36 nations
In a heated post, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko posted on Facebook that he had been “informed about the refusal to issue visas to several members of the Senegalese women’s national basketball team”.
He said that he had instructed his country’s minister of sports to cancel what was to have been a 10-day training camp in the US.
According to Mr Babacar Ndiaye, president of the Senegalese Basketball Federation, the US only renewed visas for “those who held old visas and rejected new requests”.
A total of 12 visas – five for players and seven for the team’s staff – were rejected, according to a federation statement late June 19.
Les Lionnes had been slated to train in the US ahead of the AfroBasket 2025 tournament in Ivory Coast, which begins in July.
A spokesperson for the US State Department told AFP that it was not able to comment on individual cases, while the US Embassy in Senegal did not reply to a request for comment.
In addition to pulling the plug on the training, Mr Sonko thanked China for having “awarded dozens of training scholarships for our athletes and their coaches”.
The US travel ban already in place affects 12 countries.
The order says it is not meant to apply to athletes competing in the World Cup or the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. AFP
