The Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon have scaled the mountain of African women’s football, winning their first-ever Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) crown with a dominant 3-0 victory over tournament debutants Malawi.
The historic match, played on Sunday night at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, brought a thrilling conclusion to the expanded 16-team tournament.
For Cameroon, a nation that had previously suffered heartbreak as three-time runners-up, the triumph represents a monumental redemption arc.
Cameroon left no room for doubt, executing a clinical, first-half masterclass that completely overwhelmed Malawi's “Scorchers”.
Tournament standout Marie Ngah Manga ignited the Cameroonian contingent, steering a precise, close-range header past Malawi goalkeeper Mercy Sikelo in the 20th Minute.
The breakthrough marked Ngah Manga's first goal from open play in the tournament, having previously relied on three ice-cool penalties on the road to Rabat.
Just eight minutes later, Naomi Ndjoah Eto doubled the advantage.
Latched onto a searching ball, Eto produced a spectacular, swivelling volley inside the penalty area that left the Malawian defence completely stranded.
In the dying moments of first-half stoppage time, Eto turned provider.
Rounding an exposed Sikelo, she expertly rolled the ball across the face of goal, handing Ngah Manga an easy tap-in for her second of the night and her fifth of the tournament.
The 3-0 cushion ahead of the interval effectively insulated Cameroon, allowing their notoriously stubborn defence to lock down the remainder of the match.
Malawi, entering the final as the lowest-ranked team in the tournament (153rd in the world), had captured global headlines with a fairytale run fuelled by the attacking brilliance of sisters Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga.
Having scored 12 goals in their prior five games, the Scorchers expected to push Cameroon to the limit.
However, Cameroon’s tactical setup—guided by the exceptional reflexes of goalkeeper Michaely Kyria Bihina—proved completely unyielding.
Malawi's best opportunity arrived just after the hour mark when Bihina parried a low drive from Tabitha Chawinga, only for Temwa to flash the rebound wide of the target.
Cameroon's backline held firm to record their fourth clean sheet of the tournament, cementing a defensive record that conceded just two goals across the entire campaign.
The victory seals a miraculous trajectory for Cameroon.
The Indomitable Lionesses originally failed to qualify for the tournament on the pitch after falling to Algeria in the qualifiers.
However, when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) expanded the tournament format mid-cycle from 12 to 16 teams, Cameroon was reinstated as one of the top-ranked eliminated sides.
They capitalized on that lifeline by orchestrating a brutal knockout run, dethroning 10-time record champions Nigeria 1-0 in the quarter-finals before silencing the Moroccan home crowd in a tense semifinal penalty shootout.
With this triumph, Cameroon walks away with a $2 million (£1.48m) grand prize and becomes only the fourth nation in history to lift the WAFCON trophy, joining Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and South Africa.
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