After 22 years of heartbreak, Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses are finally champions of Africa. Cameroon defeated tournament debutants Malawi 3-0 in the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final on Sunday August 16 at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, to claim the nation’s first-ever WAFCON title.
The Lionesses wasted no time asserting themselves. Marie Ngah Manga opened the scoring in the 21st minute, before Naomi Ndjoah Eto doubled the lead in the 29th minute with a clinical finish. On the stroke of half-time at 45+3 minutes Nga Manga netted her second of the night to make it 3-0, a lead Cameroon would not relinquish. The brace took Ngah to 5 goals for the tournament.
The victory was comprehensive and sealed a historic night for Cameroonian football. Apart from the trophy the Indomitable lionesses went back with other individual awards including the player of the tournament won by Monique Ngock as well as the goalkeeper of the tournament by Michaely Bihina Kiria. The top goals scorer of the tournament went to Temwa Chawinga of Malawi who ended the competition with 5 gaols and two assist
This title was built on a second chance. Cameroon initially failed to qualify after losing to Algeria, but earned a spot when CAF expanded the tournament from 12 to 16 teams based on FIFA ranking.The turning point came in the semi-final against hosts Morocco. Goalkeeper Michaely Bihina delivered a heroic performance, saving a late penalty in extra time and then 3 more in the shootout to send Cameroon to the final.
The win ends decades of frustration. Cameroon had reached 3 previous WAFCON finals in 2004, 2014, and 2016, only to lose to Nigeria each time. With this victory, the Lionesses become only the fourth nation in history to win WAFCON, joining Nigeria with 10 titles, Equatorial Guinea with 2, and South Africa with 1.
Both Cameroon and Malawi, along with semi-finalists Algeria and Morocco, have also secured qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.The historic triumph sparked celebrations across Cameroon.
