By Destine Nde
The 2026 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) tournament that has just ended in Morocco was indeed a remarkable one. The road to the final was full of surprises, with records being made and broken, making it one of the most entertaining editions ever.
Last Sunday, the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon were crowned Champions of Africa for the first time after thrashing debutants Malawi 3-0 in the final in the Moroccan capital of Rabat — the same city that hosted the men’s final earlier this year. It was a masterful performance from Cameroon. They completely overpowered the Scorchers of Malawi, dominating the match from start to finish, with two goals scored in the first half and a third in the second to seal the victory and snatch the crown for the first time in WAFCON history.
Their experience and technical superiority over the Malawians was manifested in thrilling fashion. In fact, they proved to be truly ‘indomitable’, finishing the tournament without losing once. For them, it was a historic campaign.
In the quarterfinals, they stunned ten-time champions—and defending champions—Nigeria with a 1-0 victory, thus ending Nigeria’s incredible record of reaching every final since 1998 when the WAFCON started. This was doubly surprising because Cameroon had lost all five previous encounters with Nigeria, conceding 17goals and scoring only one.
Three days later the Lionesses delivered another brilliant performance, knocking out hosts Morocco in the semi-finals to book their place in the final. The match ended 1-1 in regulation time, and Cameroon won 3-1 on penalties after extra time. Goalkeeper Michaely Bihina was outstanding for Cameroon She silenced the home crowd by making a series of crucial saves, including two penalties, which shattered Morocco’s dream of reaching a third consecutive final. Instead, it was the Indomitable Lionesses who knocked out the Atlas Lionesses in front of their home crowd.
“We had in front of us a team that was playing in front of their home crowd, but we held tight from start to finish,” said Cameroon’s heroine, Michaely, (also chosen as goalkeeper of the tournament) in her post-match interview.
This far exceeded expectations, because besides being the hosts, Morocco had won their last two penalty shootouts against Nigeria in 2022 and Ghana in 2024, and had one of the most experienced coaches in the tournament this year — the Spaniard Jorge Vilda, former boss of Spain’s women team.
The Player of the Tournament aware was won by the Cameroonian midfielder Monique Ngock. Their captain, Gabrielle Aboudi, is the only player in Africa to have featured in eight different WAFCON editions. She can now retire as champion.
For Malawi, their campaign was nothing short of a fairytale. The Scorchers went from debutants to finalists in just three weeks, reaching milestone upon milestone which often take nations decades and even centuries to accomplish
This was their first ever WAFCON appearance, and they became the story of the tournament — reminiscent of Cape Verde’s Cinderella FIFA World Cup campaign which ended last month in North America.
Malawi topped Group C— the ‘Group of Death’ — ahead of giants Nigeria, Egypt and Zambia, to reach the knock-out stages for the first time ever. Indeed, they announced themselves to the world with a shock 2-1 win over Nigeria, and followed this up with a 1-0 win over Egypt. In the quarterfinals they defeated Ghana 2-1 to reach their first-ever semifinals, thereby qualifying automatically for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time ever. Then they crushed Algeria 2-0 to secure their first-ever WAFCON final.
Much of this was due to the Chawinga sisters, who form the heart of Malawi’s team. “When you have Temwa and Tabitha,” said their coach, Lovemore Fazili, “you are never out of a game.”
Temwa Chawinga with the 2026 WAFCON Golden Boot. (Football Association of Malawi)
Temwa Chawinga (27), the team’s star striker, ended up as the tournament’s top scorer, together with Cameroon’s Marie Giselle (on five goals each). She plays for Kansas City in the US, also as captain. She is one of the most feared strikers in women’s football. In fact, in 2024 she won the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Golden Boot and Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, scoring 42 goals in 52 games with 11assists.
The attacking midfielder Tabitha Chawinga (28) is the engine of Malawi’s team, and also its captain. She plays for Olympique Lyon in France, where she has won multiple league titles and gained Champions League experience.
However, in the final, Cameroon’s solid defence, its creative midfield, and its clinical attack were too formidable to allow the Chawinga sisters to make an impact.
Last Saturday, disappointment struck host Morocco again: they lost 1-0 to Algeria in the third place play-offs. Nonetheless as semi-finalists, both of them qualified directly too for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The 2022 Champions, South Africa, and Ivory Coast qualified as winners of the quarterfinal play-offs. South Africa ended another record by beating Nigeria 2-1. Nigeria will miss the World Cup for the first time next year. And Ivory Coast edged Ghana 2-1 as well.
Cameroon had reached four WAFCON finals before, but had never lifted the trophy. In this historic campaign they finally finished the job. For Malawi, they have nothing to regret or be disappointed about. They went into the finals, in fact into every single game, like David going up against Goliath. It was not only their first-ever appearance in the tournament but their first-ever finals. They accomplished the greatest debut run in football history, and wrote the greatest chapter in Malawian football history.
Sometimes winning does not always mean lifting the trophy: it can also mean capturing the world’s attention, enjoying fan’s admiration and earning their respect. With their historic runs, Cameroon and Malawi are both winners of the 2026 WAFCON. They have ignited new hope in the hearts of many young girls in the continent to aspire for a career in soccer. Previously this was the case mostly in Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea only. But with South Africa having won the 2022 edition, with Cameroon winning this year, and with Malawi appearing as a new star on the continental stage, interest in women’s football in Africa is likely to rise exponentially.
FEATURED IMAGE: Cameroon celebrate their victory in the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, after beating Malawi in the final. (CAF Online)