The Senegal women’s basketball team is canceling a planned training camp in the United States after several team members had their visa applications rejected by the U.S. State Department. The camp was scheduled to start on Sunday, June 22.
What did the team have planned, and what was their response?
The team had planned 10 days of practice and scrimmages in preparation for the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket tournament in Ivory Coast next month. Instead, they will stay in Senegal after the State Department rejected visas for five players, six staff members and members of a ministerial delegation.
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The visa rejections prompted a response from Senegal’s prime minister, Ousmane Sonko, on social media.
“Informed of the refusal to issue visas to multiple members of the national women’s basketball team of Senegal, I gave instruction to the Ministry of Sports to cancel, purely and simply, the ten-day preparation program initially set to be in the United States of America,” Sonko said.
Is Senegal part of the U.S. travel ban?
Earlier this month, the U.S. announced a ban on citizens from 12 countries, including seven from Africa. There are also partial travel restrictions on nationals from seven more countries. Senegal was not on either list.
In his announcement of the ban, President Donald Trump cited ties to terrorism, poor screening and vetting procedures, and a history of people overstaying their visas among the reasons citizens from those nations would be denied entry.
”We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States,” Trump said. “The list is subject to revision based on whether material improvements are made. And likewise, new countries can be added as threats emerge around the world.”
A revision may be coming. Last week, several media outlets reported that the administration was considering a ban on 36 more countries. That list reportedly bans 25 more African nations, including Senegal.
Why is the rejection of the visa applications surprising?
The rejection of visas for the Senegalese basketball team is surprising because the administration reportedly gave targeted countries a 60-day window to satisfy the State Department’s concerns.
There is also an exemption written into the executive order for “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role and immediate relatives traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.”
Aside from the World Cup and Olympics, it is unclear what constitutes a major sporting event. The Senegal women’s team is one of the top teams in Africa and currently holds first place in the FIBA Africa standings. They have won a record 11 FIBA Africa titles.
The administration declined to comment on the visa refusal on the grounds that individual cases are subject to confidentiality under U.S. law.
contributed to this report.