Aubameyang, REUTERS January 01, 2026, 7:45 p.m

Gabon’s national football team has temporarily suspended its activities after a disastrous performance at the African Cup of Nations. As Reuters reports, the country’s Minister of Sports announced the dissolution of the coaching staff led by Thierry Muyuma and the suspension of the team’s key players.

The decision came after three consecutive defeats in the group stage of the tournament, which resulted in the last place in the quartet. In addition to the coaching staff, the sanctions also affected the leaders of the national team — Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bruno Ekuele Manga, who were officially excluded from the national team.

The Minister of Sports of Gabon, Simplis-Désiré Mambula, stated that the results of the national team’s performance are unacceptable, and further functioning of the team in the current format is impossible. According to him, the decision to suspend the national team’s activities was made in a separate order.

Aubameyang, who missed the last match due to injury, responded to the allegations on social media, saying the team’s problems were much deeper than the individual responsibility of individual players.

It will be recalled that Gabon lost to Cameroon (0:1), Mozambique (2:3) and Ivory Coast (2:3), ending the group stage without a single point.