‘Unfortunate incident, we are sorry’ – Chinese embassy apologizes to Nigerian athletes

The Chinese embassy in Nigeria has referred to the visa denial of Nigerian athletes heading to the 2025 World Athletics Relays as an “unfortunate incident.”

According to NAN, Yang Jian Xing, the embassy’s cultural counsellor, made the remarks during a diplomatic visit to the leadership of the National Sports Commission (NSC) on Tuesday.

On May 8, the NSC announced that Nigeria would be unable to participate in the 2025 World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China, due to visa-related issues.

The commission said the Chinese consulate in Nigeria failed to issue visas to seven Nigerian athletes based in the US.

NSC added that the decision was due to China’s “hard policies against the USA”.

During his visit, Xing expressed the Chinese embassy’s “regret” over the episode, adding that “we are sorry.”

The envoy stated that the Chinese government “holds Nigeria in high regard” and is “eager to enhance collaboration with the National Sports Commission to strengthen diplomatic ties.”

“Once again, I want to assure you that we will do our best to prevent this from happening again, and we also plan to establish a dedicated communication channel for sports between China and Nigeria,” he said.

The 2025 World Athletics Relays took place from May 10 to 12, with Team Nigeria scheduled to compete in four events: men’s and women’s 4x100m relays, as well as mixed 4x100m and 4x400m relays.

The top 14 countries in each event earned automatic qualification for the relay races at the World Athletics Championships in Japan later this year.

‘Unfortunate incident, we are sorry’ – Chinese embassy apologizes to Nigerian athletes