Gabon Suspends National Team, Sacks Coach After ‘Disgraceful’ AFCON Outing

The Gabonese government has suspended its senior national football team, dissolved its coaching staff, and expelled star forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bruno Ecuele from the squad following what officials described as a “disgraceful” performance at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

The decision was announced late Wednesday by the country’s acting Minister of Sports, Simplice-Désiré Mamboula, after the Panthers finished bottom of Group F and crashed out of the continental soccer tournament without a single point.

“Given the Panthers’ disgraceful performance at the Africa Cup of Nations, the government has decided to dissolve the coaching staff, suspend the national team until further notice, and exclude players Bruno Ecuele Manga and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang,” Mamboula said during a televised address.

Gabon, led by former international Thierry Mouyouma, lost all three of their group-stage matches against Cameroon, Mozambique, and Côte d’Ivoire. Their final game in Marrakech on Wednesday ended in heartbreak, as they squandered a 2–0 lead to lose 3–2 to a second-string Ivorian side.

Neither Aubameyang nor veteran defender Bruno Ecuele Manga featured in the match. Aubameyang, who captained the team and currently plays for Olympique de Marseille, had returned to France for treatment on a thigh injury.

Responding to the government’s announcement, the 36-year-old former African Footballer of the Year took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), writing, “I think the team’s problems are much deeper than the individual I am.”

Aubameyang, who has represented Gabon since 2009, and Ecuele Manga, 37, who previously played for Cardiff City, were both believed to have played their final matches for the national team.