US refuses visa for members of Senegal women's basketball team: Dakar

The United States rejected multiple visas for members of the Senegal women’s basketball team which was scheduled to train in America, according to Dakar officials, as Washington tightens border controls and reportedly mulls a travel ban extension.

The tense border situation has caused consternation for some athletes and fans who plan to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympics in the United States.

Senegal is among 36 nations that the United States is considering adding to a travel ban barring entry to its territory, according to an internal administration memo.

In a heated post, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said on Facebook Thursday that he had been “informed about the refusal to issue visas to several members of the Senegalese women’s national basketball team”.

He said that he had instructed the minister of sports to cancel what was to have been a 10-day training camp in the United States.

According to Babacar Ndiaye, president of the Senegalese Basketball Federation, the United States only renewed visas for “those who held old visas and rejected new requests”.

A total of 12 visas — five for players and seven for the team’s staff — were rejected, according to a federation statement late Thursday.

Les Lionnes had been slated to train in the United States ahead of the Afrobasket 2025 tournament in Ivory Coast, which begins in July.

A spokesperson for the US State Department told AFP that it was not able to comment on individual cases, while the US Embassy in Senegal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In addition to pulling the plug on the training, Prime Minister Sonko thanked US arch rival China for having “awarded dozens of training scholarships for our athletes and their coaches”.

The US travel ban already in place affects 12 countries.

The order says it is not meant to apply to athletes competing in the World Cup or the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.