US basketball training for Senegal cancelled after visas rejected

Senegal are gearing up for the AfroBasket tournament in July

A training camp for the Senegalese women's basketball team in the US has been scrapped, with the West African nation's prime minister saying he cancelled it because some of the squad were denied US visas.

Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said the team would now train in Senegal's capital, Dakar, "in a sovereign and conducive setting".

It comes amid reports that the US plans to impose fresh travel restrictions on 25 more African countries, including Senegal.

Earlier this month the US announced a ban on citizens from 12 countries, including seven from Africa. There were also partial travel restrictions on nationals from a further seven countries, with three from Africa.

The Senegalese basketball team had planned to train in the US for 10 days to warm up for the 2025 Women's AfroBasket tournament in Ivory Coast next month.

But the visa applications for five players and seven officials were not approved, according to a statement from the federation.

This prompted an angry response from the prime minister.

"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," Sonko said on Thursday in a statement shared to social media.

It is not clear why the visas were denied.

A US State Department spokesperson told the BBC it could not comment on individual cases because visa records are confidential under American law.

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Senegal has one of the best women's basketball teams in Africa - consistently reaching the final four in AfroBasket tournaments and boasting players from top leagues in the US, Europe and Egypt.

The visa refusals are raising eyebrows because, according to the recently leaked diplomatic cable containing details of the extended travel restrictions, targeted countries were given up to 60 days to address the concerns raised by the US.

These reportedly include people overstaying their visas, lack of co-operation with deportations, links to terror attacks in the US, antisemitism or what it termed "anti-American" activity.

Following the reported new travel restrictions, Senegal's foreign ministry urged nationals to comply with their permitted periods of stay in the US.

Although it did not directly comment on Senegal's possible inclusion in the latest list of restricted countries, the government statement underscored that diplomatic and consular services were working in close collaboration with the US administration.

Meanwhile, Nigeria's Foreign Minister Yussuf Tuggar said the expanded travel bans could impede possible energy and rare earth mineral deals which West African countries can offer the US.

The Trump administration insists national security concerns and the high rate of visa overstays from some countries must be addressed.

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Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

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