Basketball Training in the USA has been canceled after the visa deflection

The training classes for the Senegalian women’s basketball team were lifted, and the Prime Minister of West Africa stated that he had canceled them because some of the detachments were refused visas.

Osman Sonko Prime Minister said the team is now training in the capital of Senegal, Dakar “in a sovereign and favorable setting”.

This goes against the background It reports that the US plans to impose fresh travel restrictions on another 25 African countriesIncluding Senegal.

Earlier this month the US announced The ban on citizens from 12 countries, including seven from Africa. There were also partial restrictions on trips for citizens from another seven countries, three from Africa.

It remains unclear why Senegalian athletes were denied visas because the US Embassy will still publicly comment on the issue.

“I was informed about the refusal to issue visas to several members of the Senegal National Basketball Team, I instructed the Ministry of Sport to simply cancel the ten-day preparation, which was originally planned in the United States,” Sonko said on Thursday a statement shared in social media.

The reports say that five Senegalese basketball players and 13 team officials traveled to other team members and their coach who were already in the US to warm up at the 2025 women’s African Women’s Tournament next month.

But their visa applications were not approved.

Senegal has one of the best women’s basketball teams in Africa – invariably goes to the finals of four in the African tournaments and boasts players from the best leagues in the US, Europe and Egypt.

Visa refusal is an increase in eyebrows because, according to the recently leakage of the diplomatic cable that contains details on extended travel restrictions, purposeful countries were given up to 60 days to solve the problems caused by the United States.

It is reportedly included in people who overcome visas, lack of cooperation with deportations, communications in the United States, anti -Semitism, or what he called “anti -American” activity.

After the registered new restrictions on the trip, the Foreign Ministry of Senegal urged citizens to fulfill the permitted periods in the United States.

Although this does not directly comment on the possible inclusion of Senegal in the last list of limited countries, the government emphasized that diplomatic and consular services are working closely with the US administration.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar said extended travel bans could interfere with the possible energy and rare earthly minerals that the United States could offer.

Trump administration insists on national security issues and need to solve a high level of visas from some countries.