Cameroon secured their maiden Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) championship with a 3-0 victory over Malawi in the final held on August 16 in Rabat, Morocco [1, 2, 3]. The 14th edition of WAFCON was hosted by Morocco for the third consecutive time [4].

Marie Ngah Manga scored twice in the first half, opening the scoring at 20 minutes and adding a second in added time before halftime [5, 1, 2, 3, 4]. Naomi Eto netted the second goal for Cameroon around the 30th minute and also assisted Ngah Manga's second strike [5, 1, 2, 3, 4].

Malawi made their tournament debut in this edition and entered ranked 153rd globally and 32nd on the African continent [5, 1, 2, 3]. Despite the loss, Malawi earned a spot alongside Cameroon, Morocco, and Algeria at the 2027 Women's FIFA World Cup in Brazil [5, 1, 2, 3].

Cameroon had previously lost three WAFCON finals but finally claimed the title in 2026 to join Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and South Africa as winners of the tournament [5, 1, 2, 3, 4]. Nigeria remains the most successful team with 10 titles [1, 2, 3, 4]. Reuters noted Cameroon are now the fourth different winners of WAFCON since the competition began in 1998 [1].

Cameroon received $2 million in prize money for the victory [5]. Individual awards included Monique Ngock as Woman of the Competition, Michaely Bihina as Best Goalkeeper, Temwa Chawinga earned the Golden Boot with five goals, and Algeria took the Fair Play Award [4]. Algeria finished third after winning the bronze medal match on penalties the day before the final, August 15 [1, 2, 3].

The four World Cup qualifying teams reflect a growing field of competition and include the hosts Morocco, Algeria, Cameroon, and Malawi [5, 1, 2, 3].