Senegal Women's Basketball Team Cancels US Training Camp Due to Visa Denials

The Senegalese women's basketball team has made the difficult decision to cancel their training camp in the United States due to visa denials for several team members and officials. The Prime Minister of Senegal, Ousmane Sonko, expressed his disappointment over the visa rejections, leading to the relocation of the training camp to Dakar, the capital of Senegal.

The team had initially planned a 10-day training camp in the US as preparation for the upcoming 2025 Women's AfroBasket tournament in Ivory Coast. However, the visa applications for five players and seven officials were not approved, as confirmed by a statement from the federation.

Prime Minister Sonko reacted strongly to the visa refusals, stating, "Informed of the refusal of issuing visas to several members of the Senegal women's national basketball team, I have instructed the Ministry of Sports to simply cancel the ten-day preparatory training initially planned in the United States of America."

While the reasons behind the visa denials remain unclear, the US State Department cited confidentiality under American law when asked for details on individual cases. This incident comes amidst reports of potential fresh travel restrictions by the US on 25 additional African countries, including Senegal.

Senegal is known for its strong women's basketball team, often making it to the final stages of AfroBasket tournaments and featuring players from prestigious leagues in the US, Europe, and Egypt. The visa refusals have raised concerns, particularly in light of leaked diplomatic cables outlining extended travel restrictions and concerns raised by the US regarding visa overstays, lack of deportation cooperation, and perceived security threats.

In response to the reported new travel restrictions, Senegal's foreign ministry advised its nationals in the US to abide by their authorized periods of stay. While not directly addressing Senegal's inclusion in the latest list of restricted countries, the government emphasized the close collaboration between diplomatic and consular services with the US administration.

Furthermore, Nigeria's Foreign Minister, Yussuf Tuggar, expressed worries over the potential impact of expanded travel bans on energy and rare earth mineral deals that West African nations could offer the US. The Trump administration has emphasized addressing national security concerns and visa overstay rates from certain countries as reasons for the travel restrictions.