On Sunday, August 16, 2026, at Stade Moulay El Hassan in Rabat, the Indomitable Lionesses wrote a page that Cameroonian women's football had been waiting for since 2004. After three lost finals (2004, 2014, 2016), always against Nigeria, Cameroon finally triumphed — 3-0 against Malawi, thanks to a brace from Marie Gisèle Ngah Manga and a goal from Naomi Eto in the first half. A first continental title that wipes away twenty-two years of heartbreak in one stroke.
This title carries, underneath it, the mark of a gamble few considered reasonable when it was made. On June 13, 2026, just over a month before kickoff, the Cameroonian Football Federation appointed Valentine Nguele to lead the Lionesses — a first in Cameroonian football history, as no woman had ever coached the senior women's national team before her. The choice, made late in the preparation cycle and championed by Samuel Eto'o, drew skepticism even in the specialized press, worried about too little time to install a game plan. Two months later, the former FC Ebolowa Filles coach lifted the trophy. Those who doubted the choice will now have to reckon with the result.
Alongside the Fecafoot president, Céline Eko Mendomo, the federation's first vice-president and head of the women's football commission, carried this project from start to finish. In the weeks before the competition, she was already publicly insisting on the need to prepare for what comes after: 'We are already preparing for the World Cup,' she said before the tournament had even begun — a statement that, in hindsight, reads almost like foresight, since the semi-finalists of this expanded 16-team edition earn direct qualification for the 2027 Women's World Cup.
Cameroon's run will also be remembered as one of the tournament's most singular: eliminated in qualifying by Algeria, the Lionesses only reached Morocco thanks to CAF's decision to expand the field. A second chance they made the most of, securing along the way a direct World Cup 2027 berth regardless of the final's outcome.
The homecoming was not without friction. Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute, accompanied by Sports Minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi and Women's Empowerment Minister Marie-Thérèse Abena Ondoua, traveled to Rabat to relay congratulations and a bonus from President Paul Biya, with one instruction: bring the cup back to Yaoundé. But upon landing on Monday, August 17, the head of state — on a private stay in Geneva — was not there to receive them personally, offering only a written message of congratulations. Three days later, Minister Mouelle Kombi sent Samuel Eto'o an official letter reminding him that receiving the Lionesses and presenting the trophy is the sole prerogative of the President of the Republic — a protocol reminder that, given the documented institutional rivalry between the Sports Ministry and Fecafoot, did not go unnoticed.
For the Lionesses themselves, the stakes remain above all symbolic. 'We want to offer the cup to our papounet Paul Biya,' captain Aboudi Onguéné had said even before the team's return home — a wish now granted: the presidency has confirmed, via official communiqué, that the presidential couple will receive the African champions this Saturday, August 22, 2026, at 4 p.m. at the Palais de l'Unité. The protocol program, timed to the minute, calls for guests to arrive from 2 p.m., setup completed by 3:20 p.m., the Fecafoot delegation and women's team arriving at 3:30 p.m., before the ceremony begins at 4 p.m. and concludes at 5 p.m.
Beyond the ceremony, it is the sporting significance of this title that will endure. For a Cameroonian women's game long relegated to the background — limited infrastructure, uneven funding, media visibility trailing far behind the men's Lions — this win sends a powerful signal to a whole generation of young girls. And for Samuel Eto'o, whose Fecafoot presidency has often been judged by results on the pitch, this unprecedented title is, to date, the clearest proof that a risky bet can also be a winning one.
