FIFA President Gianni Infantino has offered his support and his congratulations to Gabonese Football Federation (FEGAFOOT) President Pierre-Alain Mounguengui for the progress that the sport has made in the Central African nation in recent years.

The two leaders met at the FIFA Africa Office in Rabat, Morocco less than a month before Gabon face two decisive matches in their quest to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 26™. The Panthers, who first entered FIFA World Cup™ qualification in 1989 and have never qualified before, are second in Group F with 19 points from eight games in the African qualifying competition, one behind leaders Côte d’Ivoire with two games to go. Even if they fail to overtake their rivals during the October window with matches away to The Gambia and at home to Burundi, The Panthers are in excellent shape to reach the second round, a play-off in November involving the four best-ranked runners up from the group stage that will determine the continent’s representative at the FIFA Play-Off Tournament next March.

“I was delighted to meet the Gabonese Football Federation President Pierre-Alain Mounguengui at the FIFA Africa Office in Rabat, where we talked about football development and increasing participation in his country, supported by FIFA Forward funds,” the FIFA President said.

“A former international referee, President Mounguengui has been working hard to develop football in his beautiful country. I further congratulated him on Gabon’s excellent campaign in the CAF qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 26 and the thrilling possibility that they could qualify for the first time – which is bound to inspire future generations of players.”

Football in Gabon turned a corner in 2012, as the Under-23 team qualified for the Olympic Games in London and the country co-hosted the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) alongside Equatorial Guinea, advancing to the quarter-finals. President Mounguengui was elected for his first term in 2014, and three years later, Gabon hosted AFCON on its own for the first time.

Recently, Denis Bouanga became the first Gabonese player to take part in a senior FIFA final tournament when he played for Los Angeles FC in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, scoring their only goal of the tournament in a 1-1 draw against Brazilian side CR Flamengo.

This improvement coincides with FIFA’s sustained commitment to further develop football in Gabon, throughout Africa and across the world. More than USD 6 million in FIFA Forward funds have been committed to Gabon’s football infrastructure, including the construction of four technical centres that will be used as headquarters for regional leagues.

President Mounguengui said after the meeting that he and President Infantino talked about funding additional improvements in Gabon.

"We discussed the new project to build a football academy in Gabon with the FIFA President. This flagship project is particularly close to our hearts, as it will enable us to accommodate our young players of both genders in this sports and studies complex,” President Mounguengui said. “But there is also the project to build football stadiums throughout the country.”