Cameroon beats Malawi to win Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time
Cameroon defeated tournament debutant Malawi in the final of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday, winning the trophy for the first time. The Indomitable Lionesses, who failed to qualify for the…
Cameroon, who failed to qualify for the 2026Women’s Africa Cup of Nationsonly to get a second chance, beat fairytale finalistsMalawi3-0 on Sunday to be crowned champions. Marie Ngah scored twice and Naomi Eto once in the final in Rabat as the Indomitable Lionesses became queens of African football for the first time after finishing runners-up on three occasions. Cameroon lost at home and away toAlgeriain the final qualifying round, but the organisers later increased the number of teams for the tournament from 12 to 16. The four highest ranked losers, led by Cameroon, were added for the two-yearly competition, whichMoroccohosted for the third consecutive time. It was a sad climax for Malawi, ranked 153rd in the world, who had reached the title decider with theChawinga sisters, captain Tabitha and Temwa, scoring nine goals between them. Read moreChawinga sisters shine as Malawi reach Women's Africa Cup of Nations finalAmong those who saw Cameroon succeed after losing the 2004, 2014 and 2016 finals toNigeriawithout scoring was embattledFIFApresidentGianni Infantino. He was flanked by Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe fromSouth Africaand first vice-president Fouzi Lekjaa. The CAF leadership have backed Infantino, who is fighting to save his job after a barrage of criticism for his aborted plan to sell stakes in theWorld Cupto private investors. Debutants Malawi defied being the lowest ranked nation at the marquee African women's football event to reach the final after beating defending champions Nigeria,Egypt,Ghanaand Algeria. Read moreWAFCON: Malawi and Cameroon face off for historic first crownThe Scorchers started the final impressively, with the power and pace of the Chawingas creating several threatening situations. But Malawi failed to score and, as the opening half progressed, so did the performance of Cameroon, who took a 20th-minute lead. A cross was headed off Malawi goalkeeper Mercy Sikelo onto the crossbar and Ngah nodded the rebound into the net for her fourth goal of the tournament. As they became increasingly adventurous, Cameroon doubled the lead on 29 minutes when Eto, with her back to goal, swivelled and struck the ball into the corner of the net. WAFCON final: Women's sport seeks greater recognitionTo display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Cover image: صورة توثق لحظة احتفال لاعبات المنتخب المغربي بعد تسجيلهن هدفا. © أ ف ب10:58Ngah netted again three minutes into added time at the end of the opening half, heading an Eto cross into the net. After scoring twice in the opening half, Ngah should have completed a hat-trick early in the second period but, after taking the ball past Sikelo, fired wide. Malawi contained Cameroon as the second period progressed and Temwa Chawinga was just wide with a low shot after a goalmouth scramble. By reaching the semi-finals, Cameroon, Malawi, third-placed Algeria and Morocco qualified for the 2027Women's World CupinBrazil. The number of African qualifiers could swell to six as losing WAFCON quarter-finalists South Africa andGhanahave secured places in inter-continental play-offs. (FRANCE 24 with AFP)