Gabon's Government Appears To Have Suspended National Football Team And Fired Staff After Poor Show In AFCON

Gabon’s government appears to have suspended its national soccer team after a disappointing performance at the Africa Cup of Nations and fired its coaching staff.

Gabon failed to win a game at the ongoing tournament.

The country’s interim sports minister, Simplice-Désiré Mamboula, reportedly made the announcement on national TV late Wednesday with no time frame on when Gabon would play again. He also said that the government had decided to remove players Pierre Émerick Aubameyang and Bruno Ecuélé Manga from the squad.

However, the video clip of Mamboula’s declaration was later removed from the social media channels of Gabon Télévision, and no corresponding statement was published on the government website.

Aubameyang, the team captain, did not feature in Gabon’s final group game against Ivory Coast on Wednesday after returning to his club Marseille with an injury.

The Panthers were already assured of last place and elimination after losing their first two games to Cameroon and Mozambique.

Before Wednesday’s final group game, Gabon’s president, Brice Oligui Nguema, criticized the team for its performance in Morocco and blamed a “lack of method and the application of resources.”

Nguema said there was “a worrying erosion of patriotic sentiment in the management of sporting affairs,” according to broadcaster Gabon 24.

Nguema seized power in a 2023 military coup.