Football moves the crowds
The Stade d'Angondje (or Stade de l'Amitié sino-gabonaise), which has twice hosted the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012 (where Gabon finished quarter-finalists, their best result with 1996) and in 2017, is always packed when the national team plays at home. Led by their star and Arsenal Premier League striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the Panthers are still looking for their first World Cup qualification.
Combat sports, great results
Judo, karate, taekwondo. Karate is widely practiced in Gabon and it is not uncommon to see training on the beach at weekends. Some local karatekas have already reached the podium of international competitions, such as Mountou Taty Dan. The same goes for judo, which has carried Gabon's colours high thanks to its world military champion Melanie Engouang, who held the Gabonese flag at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Sarah Myriam Mazouz participated in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Finally, taekwondo is also very popular with the younger generation. It must be said that in 2012 in London he was silver medalist, which remains today the only Gabonese medal at an Olympiad
Boxing. If the fights always find a favorable echo among a public marked by famous African boxers, it is because boxing is part of the mass sports representing Gabon with dignity outside, as when Taylor Mabika was world champion of the heavy-light in 2016.
Songho, the traditional hobby
Also known as awale, songho is a clever and subtle strategy game, subject to specific rules. Decorative and fun, it is sold in the craft villages in the centre of the capital. To see the Gabonese playing songho or checkers, a game that is also very popular, you have to walk around the popular neighbourhoods such as Rio, in Libreville, or in the maquis of the small towns and villages of the provinces.
At sea, gliding but especially fishing
Surfing - Kitesurfing. Kitesurfing has been popular in Libreville for a few years now, and people often take off from the Guégué bridge. With a little luck, you can even ride alongside dolphins. As for surfing, it is practiced at the end of the Pointe Denis, near the lighthouse of Gombé or on the beaches of the Cape, in Port-Gentil.
Fishing. Gabon's worldwide reputation as a first-class fishing site is well established, particularly for the prodigious catch of tarpon. Very popular leisure activity, fishing motivates each year hundreds of tourists coming especially on the sites classified among the best on the international level. Indeed, the lagoons of Iguéla, Ndogo (Sette Cama) and Fernan Vaz are famous for their captains, barracudas, red carps, the famous tarpon and jacks from 50 to 100 kg. Surf-casting, trolling, at sea or in the lagoons, sport fishing remains a key activity in the country. It is during the rainy season, from September to April, that fishing is most fruitful.
