2026 Women's AFCON: Cameroon is (finally) aiming for the Holy Grail

The road to Morocco was far from smooth for Cameroon. Eliminated in the qualifiers by Algeria (a defeat in Oran then a narrow, insufficient victory in Yaoundé), the Cameroonian women owed their ticket to the tournament’s expansion decided by CAF, which brought in several additional teams based on the FIFA rankings. It’s a play-off qualification, for sure, but also a real opportunity for a team that hasn’t competed in the tournament since the previous edition.

An ambitious squad

The best memory for the Lionesses remains a bitter one: the 2016 final, played at home, narrowly lost to Nigeria. This disappointment continues to fuel the determination of a team that has established itself, over the years, as one of the continent’s most consistent sides, but has never converted that consistency into a title. An entire generation now dreams of finally writing this missing page in Cameroonian football history.

A tense preparation

The training camp, launched at the end of June in Yaoundé, was supposed to mark the start of a new era based on discipline. Yet it began in turmoil: the sudden departure of two veteran players and the removal of the captain’s armband from Gabrielle Aboudi Onguéné, in favor of Colette Ndzana, cast a shadow over the group. The crisis was quickly overcome, as the team has since completed a string of training camps in Casablanca, alternating between intensive sessions and internal practice matches to fine-tune their play before the kickoff.

On the sporting front, the new head coach Valentine Nguele took over after Jean-Baptiste Bisseck’s departure, with the clear aim of building unity in a squad combining experience and young talent from the Guinness Super League, the especially well-represented local championship in the final squad list.

OG7, the living memory of the Den

In this transition period, one figure continues to embody continuity: Gabrielle Aboudi Onguéné, nicknamed “OG7”. Sixteen years after her debut for the national team, the striker heads into her eighth AFCON with the same hunger as when she started, driven by a sense of unfinished business she doesn’t hide. Her presence reassures a squad in full rebuild, while symbolizing the collective quest for a title that has eluded Cameroon for far too long.

The Indomitable Lionesses will play in Group D, where they will successively face Mali on July 29, Ghana on August 2—set to be the group’s headline clash—then Cape Verde on August 6 to complete the group stage. It’s a demanding schedule that leaves no room for error for a team determined to return to the top of African women’s football.

Much more than a trophy

Beyond the sporting stakes, a continental triumph would crown several decades of effort and firmly confirm Cameroon’s status among the great nations of African women’s football. A powerful symbol, just days before kickoff, against the backdrop of controversy over the Lionesses’ new kit, whose cost and terms of distribution are being debated in the country.

Amid public expectations, internal tensions overcome, and a clear ambition, the Indomitable Lionesses head into this 2026 AFCON with a clear objective: to finally convert, at last, the continental opportunity that has eluded them through thirteen appearances.