Team Bangladesh, set to represent the country at the prestigious FIRST Global Challenge 2024 in Athens, Greece, has encountered an unexpected obstacle as their visa applications were rejected due to “unreliable” information about their stay.
Despite applying through VFS Global on September 4, the team was informed of the rejection on Tuesday, with no detailed explanation provided by the visa authorities in New Delhi, who handle Schengen visa applications for Bangladesh.
This visa issue arose just days before their scheduled departure on September 24, placing the team of 11 high school students, supported by The Tech Academy, in a race against time to resolve the matter.
The team, with a distinguished history of participating in FIRST Global Challenges, has previously traveled to Washington DC, Mexico, Switzerland, and Dubai for past competitions.
Notably, they were crowned world champions at the 2020 global event.
FIRST Global has reached out to the Greek embassy on behalf of the team, but there has been limited response so far.
With time running short, Team Bangladesh is urgently seeking assistance from local Schengen countries, Greek authorities, and relevant embassies to expedite a resolution.
A representative from The Tech Academy expressed deep disappointment, saying: “We are profoundly disheartened by this setback, especially given our successful history of representing Bangladesh on the global stage. We hope that through diplomatic and media channels, we can overcome this challenge and proudly represent our nation at this year’s event.”
The team is calling on the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the Greek Embassy, and other relevant authorities to intervene and help resolve this issue, ensuring they can compete on behalf of Bangladesh in Greece.
