AFCON 2025: After Humiliating Exit, Gabon Freezes National Team and Acts Strongly
Gabon’s crushing elimination in the first round of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations triggered a true shockwave in Libreville. Just hours after the Panthers’ early exit, Gabonese authorities decided to suspend the national football team and terminate the entire technical staff, signaling a decisive break in response to what was judged an unacceptable failure.
In a statement broadcast by the national television, the acting Minister of Sports, Simplice-Désiré Mamboula, announced the immediate halt of the national team’s activities until further notice. Two major figures of the squad, Bruno Ecuélé Manga and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, were also sidelined. This radical decision followed the defeat against Côte d’Ivoire (2-3) on the third day of Group F, which definitively sealed Gabon’s elimination.
The 2025 AFCON will go down as one of the worst chapters in the recent history of Gabonese football. Having been successively defeated by Cameroon (0-1), Mozambique (2-3), and then by the defending Ivorian champions, the Panthers leave the competition without a single point. A catastrophic performance, far from the standing and ambitions announced, which sparked a wave of outrage among the public and local media.
Faced with this debacle, the government called on the Gabonese Football Federation to account for its actions and to thoroughly review its governance. President Brice Oligui Nguema had previously warned, ahead of the competition, that firm measures would be taken in case of failure. The 2025 AFCON thus appears as a breaking point, opening a period of deep reflection for Gabonese football in search of credibility and renewal.
Translated from Abderrazzak Boussaid’s French article – le7tv
