Gabon football team forced to sleep on airport floor

Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his Gabon teammates were forced to spend a night sleeping on the airport floor ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Gambia. Gabon delegation were told they weren't allowed to leave airport because of an administrative problem. "Nice job CAF, it’s as if we were back in the 1990s," Aubameyang tweeted, sharing pictures.

Aubameyang used social media to highlight their plight after arriving at Banjul airport on Sunday, ahead of Monday’s Group D clash in the Gambian capital.

No reason was given for not allowing the team to exit the airport and head to their hotel after arrival and even by previous standards of gamesmanship in African football, this was unusual. Gabon’s federation posted pictures of the incident of its Facebook page but without any comment.

“This will not demotivate us but people need to know and CAF need to take responsibility. (It is) 2020 and we want Africa to grow but this is not how we will get there,” the Arsenal striker added later.

Gabon are top of the group standings, three points ahead of Gambia, who are seeking to reach the Nations Cup finals for the first time. The top two teams in the group – which also includes Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo- advance to the finals in Cameroon in early 2022.