Maintenance

Rémy Ebanega: “Gabonese footballers are optimistic despite everything”

Remy Ebanega.

AFP - STEEVE JORDAN

Text by: David Kalfa Follow

6 mins

The Gabon Football Championship resumed on May 14, 2022 after nearly three years of interruption.

For the players, it's a first step, assures Rémy Ebanega, president of the National Association of Professional Footballers of Gabon (ANFPG).

The former international defender, however, urges local authorities to settle a debt to local players which he estimates at 1.5 billion CFA francs.

Maintenance.

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RFI: Rémy Ebanega, the Gabon Championship resumed on May 14, 2022 after three years of stoppage.

What state of mind are you in?

Rémy Ebanega:

I am very happy for my younger brothers who have spent more than two years without playing.

The fact that they are already resuming is a very good thing.

Knowing that many, if not the majority, live from this profession of professional football.

So the fact that they are resuming is already a small guarantee of having something at the end of the month, to meet the needs of their families, beyond this joy of resuming.

Because, before being a job, football is a passion for them.

In what state of mind do you feel the local players

They are very impatient to fight it out!

So impatient that we are worried about them because several clubs have made them travel without signing contracts.

Many players, even if they have taken over, have not yet received any money.

But, they are optimistic, despite everything.

They play again because they miss it.

But we, we would especially not want the leaders to take advantage each time of this desire of the players to do as they want.

Concretely, how is the Premier League 2022 supposed to take place in such a short period of time?

We immediately challenged the Ministry of Sports, the National Football League (LINAF) and the clubs on the fact that the Championship must be played in 11 weeks.

We found it quite dangerous for the health and safety of the players to have them play three matches in eight days.

[…] It's true that you have to complete the Championship to be able to enter clubs in the African Cups.

But it is first the health of the players that counts.

We have contacted the authorities and the League to review this program, because it is quite intensive and dangerous.

We hope they have thought about it carefully and we remain attentive.

Is the Championship off to a good start or is there a risk that it will stop again?

The Championship is on.

But it's true that since 2014-2015, we have always had championships that have stopped.

And, every time it's started, we say it's started and it's not going to stop.

So, we hope it will not stop… […]

Now, the most important thing for us, whether the Championship stops or continues, is that the contracts that the players will sign are respected.

Why was the Championship stopped for so long?

The only entity that could answer your question is the Ministry of Sports.

There was a decree which prohibited the practice of sport [

].

A year later, when the State decided to release certain sectors of activity, we went so far as to seize the President of the Republic to ask that football resume because some make a living from it.

Unfortunately, it was very long, because they did not listen to our interventions.

Then the government decided to restart everything.

We were already more than two years out.

It should nevertheless be emphasized that in the other countries, this situation only lasted 4, 5 or 6 months.

The CHAN was played in Cameroon, the CAN was played in Cameroon.

All championships in Africa have resumed.

Only that of Gabon has still gone more than a year without resuming.

Gabonese professional footballers camped for 47 days in front of the Ministry of Youth and Sports to demand payment of a debt of 1.5 billion CFA francs, or 2.3 million euros.

Where are you with your claims?

We are awaiting the decision of the ministry.

It is the State that settles this debt.

I want to congratulate all my young brothers who lasted almost 50 days.

You imagine ?

Morning, noon, evening, every night?

There was the sun, the rain… They stayed there all this time.

I don't know if this has ever been done anywhere in the world.

So you really have to congratulate them.

The wish of these young people was that a gesture in connection with the debt be made before the resumption of the Championship.

Unfortunately, the Ministry of Sports did not want to do this.

The minister said the debt was assessed by an audit firm.

Subsequently, this audit firm told us that they had already done all their work, but that some clubs did not submit all the necessary supporting documents.

We answered them that, if a club cannot justify itself while the player has done so, it is better to take into account the elements of the player.

So why is it still dragging?

The cabinet replied that it is waiting for the ministry to say 'ok' so that it submits its report.

This is where we are today.

We had to beg some young people to stop the sit-in to join their clubs.

At the same time, we are awaiting the Ernst & Young report.

Report that the cabinet should have made in November 2021. Do you realize?

[…]

How to explain that Gabon, a country that has spent tens of millions of euros to organize two African Cups of Nations (2012 and 2017), has trouble paying this "modest" debt to its local footballers?

It's a fairly complex question… I want to answer you that this debt issue, we put it on the table in 2016, with the clubs.

The clubs referred us to LINAF.

LINAF referred us to the Gabonese Football Federation (Fégafoot).

We then turned to the International Federation (FIFA), before returning to Fégafoot and the ministry.

The same question you ask me, we ask ourselves.

[…] I don't know what to tell you.

I think only the minister can answer you.

[…]

We, at the ANFPG, were obliged to

to help these young people to have the basic necessities.

For these young people who have done two years without support, I do not understand how we can look at them like that, without paying them part of their debt.

It is a due.

They played a championship.

We owe them money.

But why not pay?

I don't think it's a money issue.

Since 2017, we have provided all the necessary proof.

[…]

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