For Senegal women's basketball team, show goes on without US visas
Members of the Senegal women's national basketball team hustled across the court in central Dakar, dribbling and pivoting as the scuffing noise of their trainers echoed across the empty arena.
Originally slated to train in the United States this week, Les Lionnes are instead practising in their home country, an abrupt change of plans highlighting the heightened frustrations for many attempting to enter America under tightened border controls.
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Last week it emerged that the United States had rejected visas for 12 of Senegal's players and staff, raising eyebrows just days after the West African nation appeared on a list of countries for which America might extend its travel ban.
"I don't think it's a good look for the US right now", team captain Yacine Diop told reporters at the Dakar practice, conceding that the matter was ultimately out of Les Lionnes' control.
The basketball team's moment in the diplomatic spotlight comes as President Donald Trump's administration cracks down on immigration and US entry, with deportations and visa bans making frequent headlines.
Wearing the team's trademark green, the women spent their first morning of practice drilling and honing technique on Wednesday in Marius Ndiaye arena in central Dakar.
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Trundling horse carts plied the street outside alongside taxis and other vehicles on the warm June morning.
"It didn't work out. We're here today, and we have to deal with it", assistant coach Madiene Fall told reporters.
The women were supposed to practise for 10 days in the United States with their American head coach Otis Hughley Jr ahead of the women's AfroBasket 2025 tournament in Ivory Coast next month.
Fall shrugged off the change of plans, telling reporters that the players' success was not contingent on practice location, and pointed to the team's silver medal in the 2023 tournament in Kigali after training in Senegal.
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The highly successful Lionnes have finished first or second in eight of the last 10 AfroBaskets, which are held every two years.
Ultimately, team captain Diop added, the 10-day timeframe was short enough that "it doesn't matter if we go to the US or we stay here".
- 'Dunks' Washington -
Senegal Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko was less measured when he defiantly announced last week that he was cancelling the team's participation in the US training in light of the visa ordeal.
Baiting the United States with high praise for its archrival China, he thanked Beijing for its continued support of Senegalese athletes.
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"Sonko 'dunks' Washington and lauds Beijing", the top headline in local newspaper Sud Quotidien read the next day.
Sitting outside the stadium, real estate agent Diene Bacar Diouf said "everyone is talking about it".
"The United States of America is a partner for Senegal, so I don't see the reason why they are refusing visas", the 45-year-old said, adding that the matter had "disgusted" him.
The US Embassy did not respond when asked by AFP why the visas were rejected, while the State Department said it was unable to comment on individual cases due to confidentiality.
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Senegal is among 36 nations that the United States is considering adding to a 12-country travel ban barring entry to its territory, according to an internal administration memo.
For assistant coach Fall, the visa constraint simply calls for a pivot.
"There is no reason to worry", he told the reporters gathered at the arena, "we will prepare here in Senegal and try to win the holy grail in Ivory Coast."
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