AFCON 2025: Controversy surrounding Gabon's jersey

“Gaboma” and damages of more than $500,000 narrowly avoided

The controversy surrounding Gabon's jerseys erupted in November, on the eve of the playoff between the Panthers and Nigeria. According to local media outlet AFC Sports, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his teammates complained about the quality of their jerseys, among other things, to the head of state, who responded by ordering the termination of the contract with Puma and instructing the National Office for the Development of Sport (ONDSC) to find a new supplier for the national team.

The ONDSC chose Gaboma, a Gabonese equipment manufacturer, to purchase kits for this match. However, the Gabonese Football Federation (Fegafoot) did not issue a call for tenders to find a new equipment supplier for the Panthers and sent the Gaboma jerseys to CAF as it had done for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

The marketing department quickly contacted Fegafoot on November 19, asking it to provide "the legal registration certificate for the equipment manufacturer's brand, ISO certifications for the quality and safety of the equipment, the termination agreement with the former equipment manufacturer, and above all, proof of a call for tenders to select the new equipment manufacturer. It gave Fegafoot until November 30 to comply with the list of sanctions that would apply.

In fact, the use by a team participating in the AFCON of a jersey not approved by the CAF is punishable by a fine of $150,000 to $300,000 per match. For its three group stage matches alone, Gabon would therefore have to pay at least $450,000 to the Confederation of African Football, not counting other penalties that could have brought the total to more than $500,000, as explained by Gabon Media Time.

AB Sports, Gabon's outfitter for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
Stunned by this scathing warning, Fegafoot backtracked and "proceeded, in the context of the urgency of the competitive deadlines, to conduct a limited consultation with international equipment manufacturers with a view to outfitting the Gabonese Panthers for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025," as it stated in a press release dated November 28.

It added: “After analyzing the proposals and documents received, FEGAFOOT announces that AB Sport, with whom discussions had begun, was the equipment manufacturer that met all the necessary technical and logistical requirements. Consequently, AB Sport will equip the Gabonese Panthers for the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON, Morocco 2025.”

This is a six-month contract signed between the Moroccan equipment manufacturer and Fegafoot to cover the duration of the competition and beyond. Fegafoot has even specified that it will launch an international call for tenders to find a new long-term equipment supplier after the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

This emergency response will restore calm to Thierry Mouyouma and his team as they prepare for a successful campaign. As a reminder, Gabon is in Group F with Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Mozambique.