As Washington tightens border controls and reportedly considers extending the travel ban, Dakar officials claim that the United States has rejected multiple visa applications for Senegal women’s basketball players who were scheduled to practice in America.
Some athletes and fans who intend to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in the United States are confounded by the tense border situation.
According to a memo from the internal administration, the United States is considering enforcing a travel ban that prohibits entry to its territory in Senegal.
Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko claimed in a heated post that he had been informed that several members of the country’s women’s national basketball team had been denied visas.
He claimed that he had instructed the sports minister to halt a 10-day training camp in the US.
The United States only renewed visas for “those who held old visas and rejected new requests,” according to Babacar Ndiaye, president of the Senegalese Basketball Federation.
A federation statement late on Thursday stated that a total of 12 visas, five for players and seven for the team’s staff, were rejected.
Les Lionnes planned to train in the United States ahead of the Ivory Coast Afrobasket 2025 competition, which will start in July.
The US Embassy in Senegal did not immediately respond to a request for comment, despite a statement from a US State Department representative telling AFP that it was unable to comment on individual cases.
Prime Minister Sonko thanked US archrival China for “awarding dozens of training scholarships for our athletes and their coaches” in addition to putting a stop to the training.
Twelve nations are currently affected by the US travel ban.
Source: Channels TV
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