Nigeria Petitions ITTF Over Players' Visa Denial For 2025 World Youth Championships

Nigeria Petitions ITTF Over Players' Visa Denial For 2025 World Youth Championships

Sampson Adedeji

Nigeria has officially lodged a protest with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) after its contingent of young players were denied entry visas to participate in the ongoing 2025 World Youth Table Tennis Championships in Romania, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

In a strongly worded letter addressed to the global governing body and signed by the President of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Adesoji Tayo, Nigeria condemned the development, describing it as an attack on fair play and the fundamental values of international sports.

According to Tayo, the decision by Romanian authorities to refuse entry visas to the Nigerian athletes was unjustifiable and inconsistent with the principles the ITTF claims to uphold.

“As an official representative of Nigeria and Africa in this prestigious global event, I firmly believe that the reasons provided for the visa refusal are unjust, discriminatory, and contrary to the spirit of unity which international sports is designed to foster,” Tayo stated.

The federation insisted that denying young athletes the chance to compete on the world stage undermines inclusivity and threatens the credibility of international competitions, where equal opportunity is expected for all member nations.

Nigeria has requested urgent intervention from the ITTF and called for measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

The affected athletes were scheduled to compete in both the team and singles categories before they were denied travel clearance, forcing the West African nation to withdraw from the tournament.

The World Youth Championships is currently underway in Romania with athletes from several regions already in action.