Nigeria Women’s Basketball Team Denied Entry to Opening Ceremony Boat

The Nigeria women’s basketball team wasn’t allowed to board the delegation’s boat for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, said a person familiar with the situation.

The person spoke to The Associated Press yesterday on condition of anonymity because the Nigeria delegation has not publicly commented.

Once the team made it to the area where it was supposed to board the boat for the ceremony, the group was denied entry by a Nigerian official who told the players and coaches there were too many people on board. The team then made its way to the athletes village after being turned away.

Messages were left seeking comment from a Nigeria press officer.

The team had been sent logistics for the event before the group made the 2-hour, 28-minute, 138-mile (222 km) trip as part of a bus caravan of several teams from Lille, where the preliminary basketball rounds are being played. The buses had a police escort.

The buses going back to Lille were picking up the teams at the end of the opening ceremony route, and it was unclear if Nigeria would be able reach the pickup point in time to avoid staying in Paris for the night.

Nigeria, which is playing in its third Olympics, opens play on Monday against Australia. Nigeria has the only win in Olympic history for an African nation when the team beat Korea in the 2004 Athens Games in the 11th-place contest.