The Senegal women’s basketball team has had to cancel a training camp it had scheduled in the United States after some members of its squad had their visas denied, the country’s prime minister said on Thursday.
Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko wrote on Facebook that the 10-day training camp – which was due to be held at a college in the US between June 22 to July 3 – will instead take place in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, “a sovereign setting that is conducive to the performance of our athletes” after “several” players had their visas denied.
“We clearly and firmly reaffirm our new cooperation doctrine: free, balanced cooperation based on mutual respect and shared benefit,” Sonko wrote in his post.
In a statement posted on Instagram from the Senegalese basketball federation, the governing body said that two representatives of the federation, a doctor, a physiotherapist, five players, a steward, the general manager and the ministerial delegate were refused visas by the ambassador of the United States to Senegal.
No reason was given as to why the visas were denied.
A State Department spokesperson told CNN Sports that due to the confidential nature of US visas, it couldn’t comment on individual cases.
CNN Sports has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump announced a travel ban for 12 countries, which restricts entry of nationals from Afghanistan; Myanmar, also known as Burma; Chad; Republic of the Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Haiti; Iran; Libya; Somalia; Sudan; and Yemen.
People from seven countries have a partial restriction: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
In the president’s initial proclamation, there are exceptions for athletes, coaches, important staffers and immediate family for athletes traveling to the US for the 2026 World Cup, 2028 Olympics Games and “other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.”
The news comes amid reports that Trump is weighing up adding a further 36 countries to the banned list, 25 of which are set to come from Africa, including Senegal.
The Senegalese team is the dominant force in African women’s basketball, having won 11 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket titles, the most of any country.
However, the Lionesses have failed to reach those heights in recent years having last been victorious in 2015, finishing second three times since then.
The camp in the US was in preparation for next installment of the biennial tournament which will be played between July 26 and August 3 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
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