Cameroon, who failed to qualify for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations only to get a second chance, beat fairytale finalists Malawi 3-0 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. It was a sad climax for Malawi, ranked 153rd in the world, who had reached the title decider with the Chawinga sisters, captain Tabitha and Temwa, scoring nine goals between them. 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 the World Cup to private investors. But Malawi failed to score and, as the opening half progressed, so did the performance of Cameroon, who took a 20th-minute lead.
Cameroon lost at home and away to Algeria in the final qualifying round, but the organisers later increased the number of teams for the tournament from 12 to 16.
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.
