The 2019 Sud Ladies Cup has ended disturbingly. According to a quote attributed to the U20 Gabon team: "We are already under threat because we condemned our living conditions and the treatment that we are given ... But we know that we did nothing wrong. We were badly prepared, we played against teams stronger than us. We gave everything we had to honor our country. Some played on in pain, others were ready to die on the field despite the fact that we could not afford to fight technically ... We do not deserve this contempt, and this rejection. We just want to go home, and continue playing football, in better conditions " (Link from Catel) - https://www.facebook.com/371947329833552/posts/859724891055791/ (Archived) "Confiscation of phones and passports, abusive treatment, threats and other intimidation; according to the statements of certain players, they were 'in prison'." – (GabonMediaTime.com, Autotranslated / Archived) The allegations include sexual abuse of players. The Gabonese sports minister has asked the football federation of Gabon (Fegafoot) to conduct an internal investigation. “I have also just referred the matter to the Public Prosecutor". – (TheHindu.in / Archived) Fegafoot is investigating. In a statement, it says the head of the delegation was somebody different from the one named in the report above. The Gabon U20s team (images: Facebook / Wiki) The Sud tournament in France was in preparation for the next U20 World Cup qualifiers.
The senior Gabon women's team presumably has some players in common with the U20s/U19s. The seniors had problems in their Olympic qualifier, their first game for 4 years. Gabon only had 11 players without any substitutes, because Fegafoot allegedly couldn't organize some players' passports to be eligible to play in the home fixture. In the away leg, Cédric Mapangou's team won it. (from CAF Olympic Qualifiers) The federation of Gabon (Fegafoot) has been plagued by problems, mainly with money or alleged corruption. In 2015 it had its accounts frozen, in 2018 CAF challenged Fegafoot over pro players' unpaid wages, and there were claims of possible embezzlement. The Arsenal men's striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has also been critical of the federation in the past. The U20 women's team are receiving help from player union ANFPG after returning home from France.
FIFPRO is involved as well. I have also put it to a reporter for a big paper ( not the sun, mirror or dailymail lol)
Some players have been interviewed for the investigation this week in the capital, Libreville. But there are worries that they'll suffer intimidation.
No more news about the U20s yet. This happened to the men's senior team in March... Sorry, what? "Gabon Sports Ministry dissolve entire [men's] national football team" - Football-256 (Archived) “The Government has decided to dissolve the entire national football team, we think they don’t deserve to represent the nation again after failing to qualify for AFCON” - (Gabonese sports minister Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze) Isn't this the kind of interference Fifa frowns upon, or wouldn't they care? Apparently the govt "is responsible for financing" that team. Gabon's parliament: Tackling the big issues like team selection (Photo: Agora-parl.org)
After their Olympic qualifier win, Gabon have re-entered the senior Fifa rankings in 124th place. No news on the federation Fegafoot's inquest, but they've been busy The journalist Freddy Koula isn't allowed to publish for 3 months because Fegafoot went to the national media regulator, HAC, who suspended him for his "hateful" post "damaging the reputation of Fegafoot", if it has any. The decision is effectively accusing the U20 players of lying too. It's an attempt to shut down the story – HAC is a tool of corruption in Gabon, according to Reporters Without Borders. Koula says he wasn't even summoned to the hearing. An interview with him is below. (The attitudes to "homosexuality" are pretty bad, although gay people have some rights in Gabon.) - www.gabonreview.com/blog/freddy-koula-attouchements-sexuels-et-homosexualite-sont-des-choses-recurrentes-dans-le-foot-feminin-au-gabon, Autotranslated / Original in French (Archived)