The government of Gabon has suspended the national football team indefinitely following their early elimination from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, bringing an abrupt halt to all national team activity.
The fallout has been severe. Marseille forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and long-serving captain Bruno Ecuele Manga have both been banned from future selection, while the entire coaching staff has been formally dissolved.
Gabon finished bottom of Group F after losing all their matches at AFCON. They appeared on course for a morale-boosting victory in their final fixture when they led Ivory Coast 2-0, but a dramatic collapse followed. Jean-Phillippe Krasso pulled a goal back shortly before half-time, before late efforts from Evan Guessand and Bazoumana Traore completed a 3-2 turnaround for the defending champions.
In the aftermath of the tournament exit, the Gabonese government issued a strongly worded statement on national television describing the campaign as “disgraceful”. It confirmed that Aubameyang and Ecuele Manga have been “excluded” from future national duty. Ecuele Manga is Gabon’s most capped player with 105 appearances, while Aubameyang is the nation’s record goalscorer with 41 goals.
Ecuele Manga started Gabon’s opening two matches before being dropped for the Ivory Coast game. Aubameyang scored in the 3-2 defeat to Mozambique but missed the final match due to a thigh injury.
Head coach Thierry Mayouma, a former international with more than 30 caps, will also leave his post after the decision to “dissolve the technical staff”.
The full statement said: “Given the Panthers’ disgraceful performance at the Total Energies Morocco 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, and considering the multifaceted effects that are diametrically opposed to the values of ethics and exemplarity advocated by the Fifth Republic, the Government has decided: to dissolve the technical staff; to suspend the national team until further notice; to remove players Bruno Ecuele Manga and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang from the team.
“Furthermore, the Government calls on the Gabonese Football Federation to assume all its responsibilities.”
This comes after further recent disappointment, with Gabon missing out on qualification for this summer’s World Cup when they lost to Nigeria in a one-legged play-off semi-final, despite winning eight of their ten qualifying matches and finishing just a point behind group leaders Ivory Coast.
