Washington – The U.S. State Department denied visa applications Friday for a Ugandan youth baseball team that was set to become the first African team to compete in the Little League World Series.
The team from Kampala, Uganda, won the Middle East and Africa Region tournament, qualifying them to compete in the 65th Little League World Series, which begins Aug. 18 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
In a statement Friday, Little League International said the State Department did not provide specific reasons for the decision, citing privacy concerns. Little League said it was told some of the Ugandan players' visas contained discrepancies.
"It is unfortunate, as we were very much looking forward to welcoming the first African team to the Little League Baseball World Series," said Stephen D. Keener, President and Chief Executive Officer of Little League Baseball and Softball.
"However, we have worked very closely with our State Department in recent years, and we very much appreciate their diligence in this matter. At this point, we are going to have to take a few days to evaluate all of our options, and decide how best to move forward as we prepare for the World Series next month."
The Ugandan team defeated a team from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia two weeks ago to win the Middle East and Africa region. The team received visas from Poland to travel to that tournament.
The annual Little League World Series features eight U.S. teams and eight international teams. The championship game pits the U.S. bracket winner against the champion of the international bracket.
No decision has been made yet on whether the tournament will be contested with seven international teams, or if the second-place finishers from Saudi Arabia would be invited in Uganda's place.
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