The Ministry of Youth, Sports, Cultural Outreach and the Arts in Gabon has announced the reinstatement of the national team and lifted the ban on some players.
Recently, Gabon endured a disastrous AFCON campaign, losing all three group-stage matches and failing to progress to the knockout stage as anticipated.
The team lost 1–0 to Cameroon, suffered a 3–2 defeat to Mozambique, and finally fell 3–2 to Côte d’Ivoire despite leading for most of the game, marking one of their worst outings ever.
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In response to the poor performance, the government announced the dissolution of the entire technical staff and suspended the national team until further notice.
The sports ministry also noted that captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bruno Ecuellé Manga would be expelled from the national team, without specifying the reasons for the decision.
However, in a recent update, there has been a reshuffle of ministers in which the sports sector was affected, and Paul Ulrich Kessany has been sworn in as the new minister in charge.
Following deliberations with government and sports stakeholders, Kessany announced that the ban has been lifted and the team will resume full operations.
He explained that qualification for the 2027 AFCON will begin soon, which informed their decision to resolve issues quickly to avoid another disastrous campaign.
“Urgency of upcoming events, particularly the draw for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers,” the sports minister told FEFAFOOT when asked about the motive behind the removal of the ban.
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