Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene, Captain of Cameroon women's national football team, holds up a trophy while riding in an open vehicle during a victory parade following the team's Africa Cup of Nations triumph, as crowd cheers from the roadside in Yaounde, Cameroon, August 17, 2026.

📋 Breaking It Down

Cameroon’s triumph at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) is one of the most remarkable stories of the tournament.

The Indomitable Lionesses were not even meant to be in Morocco following their elimination by Algeria in the final round of the qualifiers, losing 3-1 on aggregate. But CAF expanded the tournament from 12 to 16 teams, handing Cameroon a lifeline. The Indomitable Lionesses were among four best ranked teams that had failed to get past the final round of qualifiers, along with Egypt, Mali and Côte d’Ivoire. The four were given places in the 2026 Wafcon based on their superior Fifa ranking.

And Cameroon made the most of that opportunity, going all the way to lift their first-ever title on Sunday night in Morocco. The victory ended Cameroon’s wait for the title after three previous failed attempts in 2004, 2014 and 2016. On those occasions, the Lionesses were eliminated by 10-time champions Nigeria, the same team they eliminated in the quarter-finals of this year’s tournament.

📌 What You Need to Know

Sunday’s victory also marked a historic achievement for coach Valentine Nguele, who has become only the fifth female coach to lead a team to the title. Nguele joins an elite list that includes Clementine Toure, who guided Equatorial Guinea to the title in 2008, Eucharia Uche with Nigeria in 2010; Florence Omagbemi, who led Nigeria to victory in 2016; and Desiree Ellis, who guided South Africa to the title in 2022.

The 2026 Wafcon featured five female head coaches among the 16 participating teams, representing 25 per cent of the coaches.

Only five of the 16 teams at the tournament were handled by female coaches. Desiree Ellis brought South Africa to the tournament, Nora Häuptle came with Ghana, Beldine Odemba coached Kenya, Silvéria Nédio handled Cape Verde, and Nguele came with Cameroon.

Cameroon’s triumph therefore not only delivered their first Wafcon title but also provided a powerful reminder of what can happen when a team makes the most of a second chance.

Cameroon beat debutants Malawi 3-0 on Sunday night at Moulay Al Hassan Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, to lift their first-ever African title.

Forward Marie Ngah opened the scoring in the 20th minute, heading home after Naomi Eto’s effort had struck the post. Eto doubled Cameroon’s lead in the 29th minute, finishing from Achta Toko’s corner. Ngah scored the third goal for Cameroon and her second of the match in first-half stoppage time, heading home another cross from Eto.

📰 Source: Nation Africa