2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt five calls to Sir Mark Thatcher in the days after the failed coup. On 13 January 2005, Mark Thatcher, in a South African court, pleaded guilty to helping finance a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea. South African police were able to prove that Mr Thatcher had transferred about US$285,000 to the mercenaries that were to execute the operation and had met and talked frequently to them prior to the coup attempt. After pleading guilty, he was given a four-year suspended sentence and a fine of about US$560,000. Simon Mann paid $500,000 (£281,000) towards the plot, according to a list of
Football in Equatorial Guinea Africa Cup of Nations. Football in Equatorial Guinea Association football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Equatorial Guinea. It was during the Spanish colonialism that football arrived to Equatorial Guinea. Football is now a very popular sport in the country. Recently the national team has made a few surprising results. In the qualification for the FIFA World Cup in 2006 Togo (who later qualified for the World Cup) was beaten 1-0, and in the qualification for the African Cup of Nations they beat Cameroon 1-0. Equatorial Guinea co-hosted the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations with Gabon, and was the