Senegal Women’s Basketball Training in the United States canceled after visas were rejected

Training for the Basketball Team of the Senegalese female in the United States was defective, with the country’s West Africa prime minister said he had abolished it because some of the team was refused our visas.

Prime Minister Osman Sonko said the team will now train in the capital of Senegal Dakar, “in a sovereign and favorable environment.”

Comes against the background of reports the US is planning to impose new travel restrictions on another 25 African countriesIncluding Senegal.

Earlier this month the US announced Prohibition of citizens from 12 countries, including seven from Africa. There were also partial restrictions on the travel of citizens from seven more countries, like three from Africa.

It is not clear why Senegalese athletes were denied visas as the US Embassy is yet to comment on the issue.

“I informed about the refusal to issue visas to several members of the Senegal National Basketball Team, I instructed the Ministry of Sport to cancel just the ten -day preparatory training, originally planned in the United States,” Sonko told a statement shared by social media.

It is said that five basketball players from Senegal and 13 team employees traveled to meet with other team members and their coach, who were already in the United States to warm up for the Afrobasket tournament in 2025 in the Ivoire Coast next month.

But their visa applications were not approved.

Visa’s refusal raises his eyebrows, as according to recently expired diplomatic cable containing details of the extended travel restrictions, the target countries have been denied up to 60 days to deal with the fears raised by the United States.

People are reported to include people, carrying their visas, lack of cooperation with deportations, ties to terrorist attacks in the US, anti -Semitism or anti -American activity.

Following the reported new travel restrictions, the Foreign Ministry of Senegal has called on nationals to comply with their authorized periods of stay in the United States.

Although he did not directly comment on the possible inclusion of Senegal in the last list of restricted countries, the government statement stressed that diplomatic and consular services are working closely with the US administration.

In the meantime, Nigeria Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar has said that extended travel bans can impede the possible energy and rare deals with Earth’s minerals that West African countries can offer to the United States.

The Trump Administration insists on fears of national security and the high percentage of visa exceeding some countries should be considered.

Additional reporting from Booty Natasha