WAFCON: Cameroon Win First Title vs Malawi 3-0!

Cameroon won their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title, defeating newcomers to the tournament, Malawi, by 3-0 in the final held in Rabat.

The win was the end of many failed attempts at the WAFCON title, as Cameroon had been losing the last three WAFCON finals. As for Malawi, their participation in the final match came as a huge surprise, considering that their national team is considered one of the lowest-ranked teams in Africa.

Cameroon managed to seal the win in the first half of the match by scoring all three goals in just 45 minutes.

Cameroon Outplayed the First Half of the Match

The Indomitable Lionesses outplayed the first half and eventually scored the opening goal at the 20-minute mark.

Pressure kept building, and Cameroon increased their lead at around the half-hour mark through a goal by Naomi Eto.

Malawi were having trouble coping with Cameroon’s attacking vigor and tried their best to prevent conceding any more goals for the rest of the first half.

Their hopes of being only two goals behind at the half-time whistle evaporated in injury time. Ngah Manga scored again for Cameroon in the third minute of additional time to secure herself a brace and give Cameroon a 3-0 lead.

No comeback came from Malawi in the second half as Cameroon easily maintained their advantage and bagged the most important title in African women’s football.

Historic Victory for Cameroon

This victory is historic in view of Cameroon’s record in the championship.

Cameroon had qualified for the final on three previous occasions but had been defeated on all three occasions by the record holder, Nigeria.

Cameroon had not even qualified for the previous edition of the tournament.

“This is a dream,” said Ngah Manga after the victory, calling it the fruit of years of hard work.

Cameroon became the fourth country to win the WAFCON since its inception in 1998.

Nigeria remains the main competitor with 10 championships, followed by Equatorial Guinea with 2 championships and South Africa with 1 championship.

Cameroon will also win $2 million in cash prizes due to winning the championship.

End of Malawi’s Fairy Tale Campaign

Despite failing to clinch the championship, the performance of Malawi in the WAFCON 2026 is one of the most notable events.

Malawi is ranked 153rd worldwide and 32nd in Africa, meaning that when the tournament started, no one expected the country to play in the championship match.

Their journey towards the championship match is quite notable since they have defeated the teams considered to be powerful during their campaign, thereby joining the list of best African countries at women’s football.

This also guarantees Malawi’s participation in the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil alongside Cameroon, Morocco and Algeria.

Cameroon Went the Long Route to Reach the Final

Cameroon’s participation in the tournament was an unexpected one.

Initially, Cameroon failed to qualify following a defeat against Algeria both at home and away in the final qualifying round. Yet, CAF subsequently increased the number of participating countries from 12 to 16, thereby giving the four losing teams with the highest rankings a chance to participate.

Cameroon seized the chance and reached the final at last.

Morocco and Algeria became participants in the World Cup following their qualification in the semi-finals, with Algeria finishing as runners-up after defeating Morocco on penalty shootouts.

For Cameroon, however, the evening belonged to the Indomitable Lionesses.

After three consecutive final losses, it was their day.

Cameroon are the African champions for the first time.