Cameroon became just the fourth nation to lift the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) trophy, joining Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa as winners, after demolishing Malawi 3-0 in Sunday’s final.
News
The 2026 edition in Morocco can be largely deemed a success – even after it was postponed just 12 days before the finals were initially scheduled to kick off in March.
BBC Sport Africa looks at what we learned from three weeks of competition in Rabat and Casablanca.
The decision by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) to expand Wafcon to 16 teams was justified although that announcement appeared a bit last-minute, coming as it did midway through a qualifying phase designed to provide 12 sides.
Details
The Indomitable Lionesses, eliminated by Algeria in those qualifiers, were the big beneficiaries of the expansion, advancing to the tournament on the strength of their world ranking before going on to claim the title.
Ivory Coast, who like Cameroon missed the last Wafcon and also reached these finals thanks to their ranking, topped their group before losing to the Algerians in the quarter-finals.
All four semi-finalists booked their places at the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup, meaning Malawi and the Algerians will make their debut at the global showpiece alongside Cameroon and Morocco.
Analysis
More high-level matches are required to aid the development of women’s football on the continent and, on first viewing, the 16-team Wafcon format looks like it will help.
A more level playing field
Where the 2024 Wafcon saw few upsets, this tournament provided greater competitiveness and several shock results.
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