The Nigeria women’s basketball team was barred from boarding the delegation’s boat for the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, according to an anonymous source familiar with the situation.
The source told The Associated Press on Friday that the Nigeria delegation has not yet commented publicly on the incident. The team was prevented from boarding by a Nigerian official, who cited overcrowding on the boat.
The team had to head to the athletes’ village after being turned away. Meanwhile, other members of the Nigerian delegation shared a boat with teams from Niger and Norway.
Messages were sent to a Nigeria press officer for comment, but no response was received. The team had traveled from Lille, where preliminary basketball rounds are held, after receiving logistics details for the event.
Returning buses from the ceremony were to pick up teams, raising concerns that Nigeria might not reach the pickup point in time. Nigeria, competing in its third Olympics, begins play against Australia on Monday.