Africa Cup of Nations 2024 top scorer Nsue banned and Equatorial Guinea fined by FIFA

On May 24, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has taken decisive action against the Equatorial Guinean Football Association (FEGUIFUT) and Africa Cup of Nations 2024 top scorer Emilio Nsue López for breaches of eligibility rules.

The Committee determined that López had participated in several matches for Equatorial Guinea's national team, including two FIFA World Cup 2026 preliminary competition games, despite being ineligible.

As a result, the matches involving López, specifically Equatorial Guinea versus Namibia and Liberia versus Equatorial Guinea, held on November 15, 2023, and November 20, 2023, respectively, have been declared forfeited by Equatorial Guinea, with a score of 3-0 in favor of their opponents.

Additionally, FEGUIFUT has been fined CHF 150,000, and López has been banned from playing for any representative team of any association for six months.

Nsue was born in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and represented Spain at various youth levels before switching to Equatorial Guinea in 2013. The 34-year-old striker became 2023 Africa Cup of Nations top-scorer with his five goals.

FIFA has jurisdiction over the World Cup, but not over continental competitions such as the African Cup of Nations. In 2013, Nsue Lopez was already disqualified by FIFA for unauthorized participation in games for Equatorial Guinea during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.