News | Events | Digital PR | Advertising

Home Sport Nigeria’s Under-18 Basketball Team Denied Visas by South Africa, Threatening Participation in FIBA Tournament
Sport

Nigeria’s Under-18 Basketball Team Denied Visas by South Africa, Threatening Participation in FIBA Tournament

Share
Share

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

Share

Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles
FeaturesSport

WAFCON 2024: Nigeria Defeat Zambia 5-0 to Reach Semi-Finals

Nigeria’s Super Falcons soared in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON)...

FeaturesSport

Arsenal Complete £48.5m Signing Of Madueke From Chelsea

The 23-year-old was part of Chelsea’s squad at the Club World Cup...

celebrityFeaturesSport

Snoop Dogg Becomes Co-Owner Of Championship Club Swansea

The 53-year-old American star joins former Real Madrid stalwart and Croatia World...

FeaturesNewsSport

Norwegian Olympic Ski Cross Medalist Audun Groenvold Dies After Being Struck By Lightning

Olympic ski cross medalist Audun Groenvold has died after being struck by...