South Africa has denied visas to Nigeria’s national under-18 basketball team, preventing them from participating in the 2024 FIBA U18 Afrobasket tournament set to take place in Cape Town from December 14 to 22.

The South African Consulate in Abuja denied the male players’ visas.

The Vice Chairman, Nigerian Basketball Federation, Ugo Udezue, confirmed the development in a statement on Tuesday.

Expressing frustration over the lack of explanation, Udezue described the move as a form of sabotage.

This has jeopardised Nigeria’s participation in the tournament which begins today with a match against Egypt

The players, who had been training in Abuja after returning from Abidjan, are devastated as their chance to compete in the FIBA World Championship fades.

Udezue said, “First of all, it’s rather unfortunate that an African country needs a visa to travel to another African country. Secondly, this is against the spirit of sportsmanship. These kids have sacrificed too much for a visa consular officer to deny them the opportunity to represent Nigeria globally.”

In contrast, the South African Embassy in Lagos approved visas for the girls’ team, who are currently in Pretoria for their match against Egypt.

Both teams had previously qualified for the tournament by winning the FIBA Africa Zone 3 qualifiers in Ivory Coast.

It was gathered that the NBBF has lodged complaints with FIBA Africa, the South African hosts and Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Ministry but efforts to resolve the issue have so far been ineffective