Aubameyang returns as Gabon lifts team’s suspension after AFCON exit

Star players Aubameyang and Manga are back but the football association will continue its search for a new head coach.

Gabon’s ‌football association has announced the suspension of government measures ‍imposed on the ‍national team and the lifting of those against players Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bruno Ecuele ‌Manga, following their early exit from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025.

Both players were removed from the Gabon team; the coaching staff, including head coach Thierry Mouyouma, was fired; and the whole squad was suspended by Gabon’s government in an announcement made on national television after Gabon failed to win a game at the tournament in Morocco.

The football federation said the “government measures suspending the national team” and excluding the two players were lifted on Monday. Mouyouma and his coaching staff remained fired.

“The government measures suspending the national team have been lifted, as well ‌as the exclusion of players Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bruno Ecuele ‌Manga following the unsatisfactory results ⁠of the national team at the Africa Cup of Nations,” it said in a statement.

“The Minister of Sports Paul Ulrich Kessany highlighted the urgency of upcoming deadlines, notably the ‍draw for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations,” it added.

Gabon ⁠lost their Group F games against Cameroon, ​Mozambique and title holders Ivory Coast.

The suspension could have led to the suspension of the football association, as world football’s governing body FIFA takes ​a hard stance against ‌government interference in the running of football associations.