By Dalena Reporters l January 1, 2026
LIBREVILLE / MOROCCO — In a dramatic and highly unusual response to Gabon’s performance at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the Gabonese government announced on Thursday, January 1, 2026, that it has suspended the entire national football team, dissolved its technical staff, and banned veteran star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and captain Bruno Ecuele Manga from future selection. The sweeping measures come in the wake of Gabon’s disappointing group-stage exit from the continental tournament held in Morocco.
Acting Sports Minister Simplice-Désiré Mamboula delivered the decision in a televised statement late Wednesday, saying that Gabon’s showing at AFCON was “disgraceful” and fell well below the standards expected of the nation’s footballing representatives. Gabon lost all three of its Group F matches including a dramatic 3-2 defeat to defending champions Ivory Coast, in which the team surrendered a 2-0 lead in the final minutes ultimately finishing bottom of the group behind heavyweights Cameroon and Mozambique.
Under the government’s directive, Aubameyang, Gabon’s all-time top scorer, and Ecuele Manga, the most capped player in the squad, have been removed from the national team setup indefinitely a move that effectively ends their international careers unless reversed in the future. Both players did not feature in Gabon’s final group match: Aubameyang had returned to his club, Olympique de Marseille, due to a thigh injury, and Manga was omitted from the lineup.
In addition to player bans, the government sacked head coach Thierry Mouyouma and the rest of the technical staff, and declared that “Les Panthères” Gabon’s national team nickname would remain suspended from competitions until further notice. Officials have not specified a timeline for the team’s reinstatement or outlined a formal rebuilding strategy.
President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema weighed in on the decision, critiquing the team’s preparation, cohesion and “lack of method” in international competition, and stressing that national pride and performance standards must be restored. The government’s intervention appears rooted as much in symbolic accountability as in sporting critique an approach that risks conflict with FIFA regulations that generally prohibit direct government interference in football governance.
Gabon’s AFCON campaign had been anticipated with cautious optimism following solid recent performances in World Cup qualifiers, but the team’s inability to secure a single point in its group stage has plunged Gabonese football into uncertainty. The suspension and bans mark one of the most severe government responses to poor performance in African international football and could have implications for relationships between national authorities and sporting federations on the continent.