Cameroon Claims Maiden Wafcon Crown as Malawi and Algeria Make History in Morocco

An exciting 14th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) has concluded after delivering numerous surprises and historic performances over three weeks in Morocco. Cameroon captured their first championship title following a dominant 3-0 victory over tournament debutants Malawi at Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat on Sunday. Meanwhile, Algeria secured third place by defeating the hosts on penalties in an exciting Maghreb derby, walking away with a bronze medal and the Fair Play award.

The Fennecs had never advanced past the quarter-finals in their six previous Wafcon appearances. In this edition, they shone by reaching the semi-finals and booking their spot in next year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup for the first time. Head coach Farid Benstiti expressed pride in his squad, noting how they transformed semi-final frustration into motivation for the bronze medal. Lina Boussaha scored in the 83rd minute to cancel out Morocco's first-half goal, and Ines Belloumou converted the decisive penalty in the shoot-out.

For Morocco, the tournament ended with a fourth-place finish after a semi-final penalty shoot-out loss to Cameroon. Despite missing out on their first continental trophy, the Atlas Lionesses achieved their primary goal of qualifying for a second consecutive World Cup.

Malawi entered the tournament as the lowest-ranked team at 153rd in the world and making their first appearance. The Scorchers stunned observers by defeating Nigeria and Egypt in the group stage, Ghana in the quarter-finals, and Algeria in the semi-finals. Temwa Chawinga recorded five goals and two assists to finish as joint top scorer and claim the Golden Boot, while her older sister Tabitha netted four goals.

In other tournament action, ten-time champions Nigeria were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Cameroon and will miss the Fifa World Cup for the first time. South Africa and Ghana won their respective play-in matches to secure spots in the World Cup global qualifying play-off tournament, while Egypt suffered three heavy defeats upon their return to Wafcon after a 10-year absence.