Cameroon Crowned WAFCON Champions After 3-0 Final Victory

Cameroon won the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations by beating Malawi 3-0 in Sunday’s final in Morocco. BBC Sport Africa reported that the Indomitable Lionesses became only the fourth country to lift the WAFCON trophy, joining Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa on the list of champions.

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The victory completed an unusual route to the title. Cameroon had been eliminated by Algeria during qualifying but entered the finals through their world ranking after the Confederation of African Football expanded the competition to 16 teams. Ivory Coast also gained a place through the ranking route and later topped their group before Algeria eliminated them in the quarter-finals.

All four semi-finalists secured places at the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Malawi and Algeria will make their debuts at the global tournament alongside Cameroon and Morocco. South Africa and Ghana, meanwhile, must go through an inter-confederation qualifier if they are to join them.

Malawi produced several of the tournament’s biggest results on the way to the final. The debutants beat 10-time champions Nigeria 3-2 in their opening match, then defeated Ghana and Algeria during their run. Temwa Chawinga finished as the leading scorer with five goals and added two assists, placing her ahead of Cameroon’s Marie Ngah Manga and Zambia’s Barbra Banda.

Cameroon coach Valentine Nguele became the fifth woman to lead a team to the WAFCON title. She had taken charge only in June before guiding the team through the finals. Nigeria, by contrast, recorded their worst finish in the competition: Cameroon eliminated the Super Falcons in the quarter-finals, and a 2-1 play-off defeat by South Africa means Nigeria will miss the Women’s World Cup for the first time.

The finals produced 90 goals in 32 matches, excluding two World Cup play-offs, for an average of 2.81 per game compared with 2.54 at the 2024 edition. Tanzania also beat South Africa despite sitting 65 places lower in the world rankings. BBC Sport Africa noted continued concerns over sparse crowds for matches not involving Morocco and lengthy video reviews, while no host or date has yet been announced for the 2028 WAFCON tournament.