The Nigerian U-18 boys’ basketball players have arrived in South Africa for the Afrobasketball competition after the long delay in Abuja after the South African High Commission denied them visas on their first application.

The reactions of Nigerians to the sad development and the intervention of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and FIBA changed the situation. The young players eventually left Abuja Tuesday and joined the girls early Wednesday in Pretoria where they are scheduled to play against Egypt Wednesday night.

The young Nigerians had been denied visas by the South Africans in Abuja without giving any reason. This decision jeopardized Nigeria’s early trip to the AfroBasket Men’s U-18 competition which started in South Africa on Monday.

The players trained and camped in Abuja on return from Abidjan where they won the FIBA Africa Zone 3 ticket to the African finals.

The Vice Chairman of the Youth Development Committee of the Nigeria Basketball Federation and Head of Delegation, Ugo Udezue, condemned the visa drama as sabotage.

“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,” he said.

The U-18 ladies who travelled from Lagos were issued visas and arrived in South Africa on Saturday. The NBBF sent the names of the boys and girls in a single letter to the embassy.