Lionesses win WAFCON at last.

Centre-forward, Ngah Marie Manga, scored a brace while winger, Naomi Eto, added the third to hand the head coach Valentine Nguele-managed team the comfortable win at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat. 

The goals came after the Indomitable Lionesses had tactfully succeeded to tame a ruthless Malawian team that fired from all angles in the first 20 minutes of the match with the Chawinga sisters leading the charges.  

The historic triumph hands the senior women’s national football team its first-ever winner’s distinction in a major international competition, but for the gold medal that they claimed at the African Games in Congo Brazzaville in 2011. 

Before yesterday’s final, Cameroon which featured in the Olympic Games had lost three finals in the Women’s AFCON, all against competition giants, Nigeria. 

The team was beaten by the Super Falcons in the 2004, 2014 and 2016 finals, all without scoring in any of the finals. 

The most heartbreaking of the loses was registered at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde when a last-minute goal by the Super Falcons’ Desire Oparanozie handed the visitors a 1-0 win over the Indomitable Lionesses selection.

From failing to quality to lifting trophy 

The Indomitable Lionesses originally failed to qualify for the 2026 Women’s AFCON before a move by the Confederation of African Football, CAF, handed the side a qualification ticket from the offices.

The Lionesses had series of defeats in the finals in 2004, 2014 and 2016. They reached the semifinals of the continental showpiece between 2002 and 2018. 

The performances earned the team a historic maiden qualification ticket to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup and a return to the planetary competition for the 2019 edition. 

Sunday’s final was watched by authorities from across Cameroon and rest of the globe. Amongst the authorities were Cameroon’s Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Prof Marie Therese Abena Ondoa, Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Prof Narcisse Moulle Kombi. 

CAF president, Dr Patrice Motsepe, and the head of world football’s governing body, Gianni Infantino, headlined the list of stakeholders in the traditional footballing world.

They were notably joined by the President of the Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT, Samuel Eto’o Fils, and fellow Indomitable Lions legend, Patrick Mboma.

Madly goal rush

The Indomitable Lionesses, and the Malawians who were making their first-ever appearance in the final phase of the WAFCON, both thrilled the audience from the first minute.

The electrifying play lasted till the final minute when Aboudi Onguene’s 93rd minute goal was chalked off for offside. 

Malawi controlled the first quarter of the 90th minutes of the match before the Indomitable Lionesses claimed the command baton. 

Tabitha Chawinga attempted the newcomers’ first shot 26 seconds into the match when her weakly-powered ball was easily gathered by goalkeeper Michaely Bihina. 

Her sister, Temwa Chawinga, came calling again at the third minute only to be denied by the Cameroonian goalkeeper who calmly picked up the ball inside her penalty box to stop the youngster from scoring her fifth goal of the tournament.

It took a defensive masterclass from centre-back Easther Mayi Kith for Cameroon to deny the Malawians again at the fifth minute. 

This was after the Chawinga sister led another attacking sequence in their attempt to frustrate a Cameroonian team whose finest attempt at the moment had been a weak shot from winger Naomi Eto.

A well-calculated move from the Cameroon goalkeeper saved the Indomitable Lionesses again at the 10th minute following a fresh speedy attacking action from the opposition. 

She made a similar save at the 13th minute after Temwa Chawinga came through following a similar attacking sequence by the southern Africans led by her elder sister Tabitha Chawinga.

Enter the Indomitable Lionesses

Cameroon took over the command of the match at the 20th minute when resultant Player of the Tournament, midfielder Ngock Monique and her teammates fully switched on their attacking machinery. 

Forward Ngah Manga got her fourth goal of the tournament after heading in from inside the Malawians’ penalty box to give Cameroon the lead. 

The goal followed a well-crossed ball from right winger Naomi Eto who had been originally sent crashing back to the green turf by the cross bar after an initial header by winger Grace Mendoua. 

Naomi Eto came close to doubling the score at the 29th minute. But her close-range shot was palmed out by the Malawian goalkeeper Mercy Sikelo. 

She, however, got her much-chased goal barely 20 seconds later when she beat the Malawian shot stopper at the 30th minute with a no-look attempt. 

Ngah Manga headed in Cameroon’s third goal at the final minute of the three minutes of added time for the first segment.

She headed from close range after Naomi Eto beat the Malawian goalkeeper before powering in to claim the assist and bag her third goal contribution in Sunday’s final. 

The attacking sequence had been launched by Cameroon’s midfield mastermind Genevieve Ngo Mbeleck. The Indomitable Lionesses returned for the second segment in similar form. But failed to get the fourth goal.

Ngah Manga came close to scoring a sixth goal that could have handed her the golden boot prize of the tournament which was later secured by Temba Chawinga who scored five goals and provided two assists in the campaign.

But the attacker who ended the match tied on five goals alongside three other players including Malawi’s Tabith Chawinga and Barbra Banda of Zambia fired wide following an opportunity at the 49th minute. 

Naomi Eto and Grace Mendoua also came close to scoring. Veteran forward Aboudi Onguen, 37, who was representing Cameroon in the final phase of the WAFCON for a competition record eighth time, scored at the 93rd minute shortly after coming in from the bench. But the goal was chalked off for offside. 

Rollercoaster ride to final

The Indomitable Lionesses walked their way to the final of the Morocco tournament without losing any of their matches. The team won four and drew one of the five matches that it disputed in the tournament.

The progressed to the knockout stages as Group D winners after defeating Mali and Ghana in its first two matches before playing out a 1-1 draw with newcomers Cabo Verde in the final match in the series.

Amazone FAP defender, Myriam Maewa Inyadjou Yamen, scored the lone goal to hand the team a historic 1-0 victory over record 10-time winners and defending champions Nigeria in the quarterfinals last Sunday.

Goalkeeper Michaely Bihina stole the show on the day. The 22-year-old made nine saves to deny a Nigerian Super Falcons team that registered over 14 shots in the historic match.

Bihina who went on to bag the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament award of the campaign, returned even stronger for the team’s semifinals showdown against the host Morocco. 

The former Canon of Yaounde and Éclair Football Filles goalkeeper saved four penalties as Cameroon stopped the North Africans on post-match penalty shootouts both teams failed to score after 120 minutes.

Redemption for old guards 

Cameroon’s run to the 2026 WAFCON final carries extra weight because of two familiar faces. Of the 27 players named by coach Valentine Nguele, only Gabriel Aboudi Onguene and Genevieve Ngo Mbeleck were part of the Indomitable Lionesses side that reached the 2016 final. 

That year at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde, a late strike from Nigeria’s Desire Oparanozie sealed a 1-0 win for the Super.

Falcons and denied Cameroon a first continental title. Onguene has featured at the WAFCON a record eight times. The 37-year-old Cameroonian star etched her name in African football history with this feat as the Indomitable Lionesses saw off Mali 2-1 in a tightly contested match. 

The forward, who made her WAFCON debut back in 2008, has steadily built her profile across the continent as a fine finisher, a leader on and off the pitch and an inspiration to many across the African continent and not just in Cameroon. 

Onguene inspired Cameroon to win gold at the 2011 African Games in Mozambique. She also competed at the London 2012 Olympics where she scored her nation’s only goal at the tournament. 

Three years later, she was part of the historic squad that featured at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada where Cameroon qualified for the round of 16 at the first time of asking. But she has never lifted the continent’s most prized women’s trophy. 

In 2016, Onguene was named Best Player of the tournament as they lost to Nigeria. In 2014, she was part of the team that lost to Nigeria. 

Her compatriot Genevieve Ngo Mbeleck was also present at the 2014 and 2016 WAFCON finals. She is arguably one of the most experienced midfielders in the history of the national team. 

Mbeleck is valued for her composure in possession and her ability to link defence and attack. She has been a mainstay of the Indomitable Lionesses for over a decade, anchoring the midfield through multiple WAFCON campaigns.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3881 of Monday August 17, 2026