Football News
Wafcon 2026 review: Glory for Cameroon, Nigeria flop and Malawi cause a stir
Monique Ngock starred as Cameroon triumphed for the first time in a tournament of compelling surprises, even if crowd figures disappointedCameroon became only the fourth country to lift the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) title following Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa, and only the third to have both a men’s and women’s continental champion, after a 3-0 win over Malawi in Rabat last weekend. The result was significant for several reasons, not least because it gave the competition a new winner after the former champions Nigeria and South Africa were eliminated in the quarter-finals to mark a changing of the guard in the African women’s game.It is worth remembering that Cameroon did not directly qualify for this edition of the Wafcon and were only added when the tournament was expanded to 16 teams last November. That gave them the opportunity to compete, but almost no one would have picked them as champions based on reputation and results. Cameroon had not reached a Wafcon final in a decade and had never even scored a goal in the final, but had three before half-time against a Malawi side that seemed destined to complete a fairytale.As debutants and the lowest-ranked team at the event in 153rd place, Malawi scorched their way into the final, in the process confirming a first World Cup appearance in Brazil next year. Malawi and Cameroon will be joined by Morocco and Algeria, who have qualified for the global event for the first time.Two months ago, the former Cameroon goalkeeper Valentine Nguele, who holds a Confederation of African Football (Caf) A coaching licence, was appointed as the national team’s first female coach. She came with a strong record after being part of the support staff at Louves Minproff that won the Cameroonian first division title five times between 2011 and 2020 and was also an assistant coach with FC Ebolowa, who won the title in 2024 and 2026. “Football is a true passion,” she said. “I love the moments I spend on the pitch every day. My style is participative and engaging.”Under Nguele, Cameroon became a focused and clinical side, which they demonstrated by topping their group. In the quarter-finals they beat the 10-time champions Nigeria, then the hosts, Morocco, in the semi-final and, finally, Malawi. In the process Nguele became the fifth female coach to win Wafcon.By contrast Nigeria failed to make the semi-finals for the first time. Worse was to come as they lost 2-1 to South Africa in their World Cup playoff, meaning they will be absent from the tournament for the first time. The Nigerian Football Federation subsequently sacked Justine Madugu and his entire technical team and announced plans to set up a taskforce to investigate the national team’s failure.Another team who will be disappointed with their performance at Wafcon are Morocco, who participated in the previous two finals and would have hoped for third time lucky in front of their home fans. They were particularly poor in penalty shootouts, scoring once in four attempts against Cameroon in the semi-finals and twice in five against Algeria in the third-place playoff.The Cameroon goalkeeper Michaely Bihina won the competition’s golden glove for her ice-cold performances between the posts. Bihina’s standout showings came in the quarter-final, where she made nine saves against Nigeria. In the semi-final, she made three saves in regular time and three more in the penalty shootout to deny Morocco. Bihina kept a clean sheet in the final too, and conceded only two goals in six matches across the tournament.Wafcon’s best player also came from Cameroon – the midfielder Monique Ngock, whose passion for football stems from watching the Indomitable Lionesses lose the 2016 final. Ngock was 12 years old at the time and remembered sobbing in disappointment. “When I cried in 2016, I said I will take my revenge one day if God gives me that opportunity. I will do everything to bring that trophy,” she said. Ngock very much fulfilled that vow by putting in several excellent performances in Morocco, including in the final, when she kept the dangerous Chawinga sisters in check.Temwa Chawinga ultimately took the Golden Boot with five goals – the same number as Barbra Banda (Zambia), Inès Konan (Côte d’Ivoire) and Marie Ngah (Cameroon), who scored two in the final, but Chawinga also had two assists to her name.Tanzania were responsible for the first upset of the tournament when they scored an 87th-minute winner to beat South Africa in the opening match of Group B. The following day Malawi pulled off a heist for the ages when they beat Nigeria 3-2. All the action came in the second half after Temwa Chawinga opened the scoring in the 73rd minute, her sister Tabitha doubling Malawi’s lead six minutes later. Nigeria responded from the spot in added time before Temwa struck again in the 95th minute to give Malawi a 3-1 lead. Nigeria threw everything at their opponents and scored in the 99th minute to set up a thrilling finale but Malawi held firm to begin a rollicking run to the final.As bronze medallists, Algeria enjoyed their best Wafcon finish and also scored more goals at this tournament than in any previous edition – seven. They also had seven different goalscorers at the tournament, including the impressive 20-year-old Mélissa Bethi, who has been signed by Washington Spirit.Stadiums were sparsely populated for most of the tournament, with on-the-ground reports indicating a lack of branding and awareness. Tickets went on sale less than a week before the tournament kicked off, priced between 20 and 50 Moroccan dirhams (£1.59 to £3.98), but such affordability did not have the required impact. This was also the third successive Wafcon held in Morocco, and though official numbers are not in they are unlikely to match the 2022 tournament, where more than 50,000 fans watched the final.Van Wyk urges reform in South Africa: The former South Africa captain Janine van Wyk, who is now assistant coach at the Swedish side Kristianstad, used the launch of her autobiography to continue a campaign for a more professional league structure in her home country. Interviewed the same night as South Africa beat Nigeria to qualify for the inter-confederation playoffs, Van Wyk said their inability to win Wafcon was due to structural issues in the domestic game. “We have the players. We have the talent in our group. What I am blaming is the kind of setup and league we have in our country that is not providing those tools for our players to excel,” she said. “We need more preparation. These girls were hard done by.”Jamaica on film: Reggae Girlz, a documentary about the Jamaican women’s football team, will be released on 27 August. The film follows the team’s journey to the 2023 World Cup, including the struggles they faced in preparation as well as their on-field achievements, most notably a first ever World Cup win, over Panama.double quotation markWe are humble. We know where we have come from. I think that is what drives us because we still remember that we came from very far so we have nothing to lose. We are not representing just ourselves. We are creating an image for the younger generation, especially the young girls” – Monique Ngock on Cameroon’s success at Wafcon before they faced Malawi in the final – and won.Wafcon will not return until 2028 as part of a move to shift the tournament back to its regular biennial schedule. To fill the time, why not watch the most recent final back again.A boycott of the Women’s U20 World Cup may hurt in the short term, says Tom Garry, but if it forces Fifa reform the women’s game will benefit.Mapi León talks to Tom Garry about the “beautiful and exciting” challenge of London City Lionesses, why she swapped Barcelona for Bromley and adapting to English life.Brighton’s Emilie Joramo gets her chat on with Suzanne Wrack about the lure of the WSL and her hopes at her new club.And Durham’s captain, Sarah Wilson, has spoken of her relief at the WSL club’s survival after an anxious summer.
