South Africa Denies Visas To Nigeria U-18 Basketball Team

The Nigeria U-18 boys’ basketball team has been denied visas to attend the 2024 FIBA U18 Afrobasket tournament by the South African Consulate in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

This decision has severely impacted Nigeria’s participation in the tournament, which is set to begin today in South Africa. The Nigerian team was scheduled to play against Egypt in Pretoria, but with the visa denial, their hopes of competing have been dashed.

The players, who had been training and camping in Abuja after their return from Abidjan, were left devastated by the news. They were overwhelmed with shock and sadness as their dreams of competing in the FIBA World Championship were shattered due to South Africa’s refusal to grant them entry.

Ugo Udezue, the Vice Chairman of the Youth Development Committee of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), who is already in Pretoria with the first team, was taken aback when he received the news. He expressed deep disappointment, describing the situation as sabotage.

Udezue remarked, “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.”

The refusal to grant visas to the Nigeria U-18 Basketball Team seems intentional, as the South African Embassy in Lagos approved visas for the girls’ team, who are already in Pretoria and preparing for their match against Egypt. Both teams, after returning from the FIBA Africa Zone 3 qualifiers in Ivory Coast, were sent to camp, with the boys in Abuja and the girls in Lagos.

The NBBF had sent both the boys’ and girls’ names in a single document to the embassy for visa processing. The NBBF has since lodged complaints with FIBA Africa, the South African hosts, and Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Despite some efforts from South African officials in Pretoria, there has been little progress in resolving the issue.

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