President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Daniel Igali, says Nigerian athletes competing in global competitions may have issues securing visas due to COVID-19.
Speaking on Splash FM, Igali said many embassies would now require various tests to be carried out on African athletes before issuing them visas.
“My biggest fear is not even with wrestling. You know we are Africans and most of the major tournaments are in America, Europe and Asia.
“I foresee a lot of requirements that will hinder us from attending a lot of tournaments,” Igali said.
“I remember when there was Ebola in 2014, I wanted to contest for the United World Wrestling Bureau, I wasn’t allowed to even go for the election because we had very minute cases of Ebola in Lagos and a few other parts of Africa.
“So, my fear is, once this COVID-19 thing comes, a lot of embassies are going to come up with very stringent rules about reporting, about tests and all that kind of things that might be an impediment for us.
“That is my bigger fear.”
