A new deadline, May 15, 2024, has been set for the start of the first and second division championships, following the meeting, Friday, May 3, between the president of the transition and the National Football League, led by Brice Mbika Ndjambou, introduced to the presidential palace by the Minister of Youth, Sports and the Arts, André Jacques Augand.
We must hope that this will not be the occasion for another missed meeting, as was the case for the date of April 20, as previously announced by the responsible minister on the occasion of the opening of the capacity building seminar for managers of sports companies and elite football clubs.
There is rather reason to be positive this time, as the news comes from an official press release from the communications services of the Presidency of the Republic. A communication whose content reports a meeting between the president of the transition, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguéma and the organizers of the elite championships (D1 and D2 in particular), the National Professional Football League (LINAFP), in the presence of the Head of the ministerial department in charge of sports.
A meeting at the end of which the start date of the elite championships has once again been set for May 15, in exactly 12 days. To follow the instructions of the president of the transition, the Linafp should, so to speak, be diligent in the next few hours, in publishing the timetable of preparations and practical arrangements for the organization of national football.
Formula, technical visits, calendars and duration of the competition, approved stadiums, promotion, communication and interest strategies for the general public, are among other concerns and challenges on which the Linafp struggles to convince over the seasons.
The question of financing and the economic model of national football and the empowerment of Linafp was also raised during this meeting at the presidential palace. It is understood that new financing mechanisms are now coming into play, thanks to a partnership concluded with the Gabonese oil union (UPEGA), we learn.
Still, on the deadlines, due to failure to respect the established timetable, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has already made it known that no Gabonese elite team would be admitted next season (2024 -2025) , in the various African inter-club competitions, the African Champions League (C1) and the CAF Cup (C2).
The elite championship has not been played in Gabon since 2020, upon the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The national team was essentially made up of footballers playing outside the country, particularly in European championships.
Féeodora Madiba
2024-05-04 01:15:04
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