By Ndi Eugene Ndi, Special Correspondent, in Yaoundé
If you want to find an “Indomitable Lion” in Yaoundé these days, your options are remarkably limited. You could look for the men’s national football team, but they haven’t roared with any real conviction since 2017.
Alternatively, you could scan the luxury hotel lounges and elite medical clinics of Europe for Cameroon’s 93-year-old President, Paul Biya, who stepped out for a “brief private stay” on June 7 and has apparently forgotten his way home.
Fortunately, the public has found a much more reliable alternative, and she wears football boots.
Following the Indomitable Lionesses’ historic 3-0 demolition of Malawi to claim their first-ever Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title, Cameroonians have abandoned political hand-wringing in favour of pure, unadulterated sports satire.
Cameroon celebrates after lifting the trophy during the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations final at the Moulay El Hassan Sadium in Rabat. (Photo - CAF)
As thousands of jubilant fans lined the 22-kilometre stretch from Nsimalen International Airport to the city centre, a hilarious, pragmatic consensus began to form among the vuvuzela-blowing crowds.
Since the men’s national team is trapped in a multi-year slump and the head of state is a ghost, the women should simply pull double duty.
Send ‘Lionesses’ to men’s AFCON next year
The joke echoing through the streets of Yaoundé is simple: send the Lionesses to represent the men next year at the Men’s AFCON, too. After all, they are the only ones capable of delivering a result when the 2027 tournament is hosted in East Africa.
The sheer joy of the moment has manifest in a delightful gender-bending carnival.
On the tops of yellow cabs and aboard roaring motorbikes, male fans celebrated the victory by parading through the capital dressed in women’s clothing — a tongue-in-cheek nod to the fact that, in Cameroon right now, the real heavy lifting is being done by the women.
Thousands of jubilant fans lined the 22-kilometre stretch from Nsimalen International Airport to the city centre in Yaounde to receive the jubilant women's national football team. (Photo / Ndi Eugene Ndi)
It is a stark, triumphant contrast to the heartbreak of 2016, when the team wept bitterly on home soil after a late Nigerian goal denied them the crown in front of the presidential couple.
A decade later, the tears have been replaced by the sweet irony of a fairytale ending; the Lionesses didn’t even initially qualify for the tournament, entering only after it expanded to 16 teams, before proving that a second chance is all a Cameroonian woman needs to conquer the continent.
Geopolitical Trackers
Yet, the most impressive feat of Ngah Manga and Naomi Eto’s clinical finishes in Rabat might not be the silverware itself, but their sudden, inadvertent role as geopolitical trackers.
For weeks, the unexplained absence of President Biya has dominated hushed group chats and grim newspaper headlines across the country.
But the gravity of a continental trophy possesses a unique magnetic pull.
No sooner had the final whistle blown than a congratulatory message surfaced on the President's official social media handle, followed quickly by local media reports that the veteran leader will receive the champions at the Unity Palace this weekend.
Male fans celebrated the victory by parading through the capital dressed in women’s clothing — a tongue-in-cheek nod to the fact that, in Cameroon right now, the real heavy lifting is being done by the women. (Photo / Ndi Eugene Ndi)
It seems the Lionesses have accomplished what political opposition and constitutional crises never could: they have successfully lured their President back across the hemisphere, proving that while Paul Biya may govern from afar, he will always come home for a photo-op with a winning team.
Stark Contrast to 2016 Tournament
On Monday, thousands of jubilant fans gathered at the Nsimalen International Airport and along the 22-kilometre road from the airport to the city centre, cheering as the team arrived in a motorcade, brandishing the trophy.
The atmosphere was a stark contrast to the 2016 tournament, when the team was denied the title by Nigeria on home soil in Yaounde.
Cameroon came close to lifting the trophy at the 2016 tournament on home turf, but Nigerian forward Desire Oparanozie’s 84th-minute goal denied them the crown in front of thousands of football fans, including the presidential couple, President Paul and Chantal Biya, at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium.
Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) President and legend Samuel Eto’o (centre) with the Indomitable Lionesses and their trophy in Yaounde. (Photo / FECAFOOT)
Coached then by Carl Enow Ngachu, the Indomitable Lionesses wept bitterly at the end of their 0-1 loss to Nigeria. Attacker Aboudi Onguene continued sobbing even as she greeted CAF officials and Cameroon’s President Biya and his wife, while Nigeria’s Super Falcons were hi-fiving, chanting, and dancing for their fans around the stadium and up to the podium for their reward.
“They have finally broken the jinx. When they defeated Nigeria in the quarterfinals, I knew the Indomitable Lionesses’ time for glory had come… we have to celebrate,” said food vendor Relindis Nyah, who left her local restaurant to welcome the team, waving a Cameroon flag as the girls drove through the central town in Yaounde with the trophy.
Roller-Coaster of Podium Near-Misses
Since their runner-up finish in Yaounde in 2016, the Indomitable Lionesses experienced a roller-coaster of podium near-misses, qualification heartbreaks, and an ultimate fairytale of non-starters to historic continental champions.
Some fans joked that the girls could be preferred to represent Cameroon at the men’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania next year. (Photo / Ndi Eugene Ndi)
Reinstated after the tournament expanded from 12 to 16 teams, Cameroon, which did not initially qualify, made use of its second chance and went all the way, ending three previous painful defeats in the tournament’s finals, where the Indomitable Lionesses had never scored a goal.
Ngah Manga’s brace and Naomi Eto’s goal in Sunday’s final against Malawi at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat gave Cameroon its first-ever silverware, joining Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and South Africa as winners of the tournament.
“To think we did not initially qualify, but are champions is more reason to celebrate. The girls have proven that Cameroon is a football powerhouse on the continent,” said motorbike rider Rodrique Eyenga.
At the blast of the final whistle on Sunday night, fans went haywire, thronged the streets of Yaounde in celebration; some on taxi tops, others on motor bikes blowing vuvuzelas, with some male fans dressed in women’s cloths.
Shifted Attention From President Paul Biya Absence
Some fans joked that the girls could be preferred to represent Cameroon at the men’s tournament.
Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses parade in Yaounde upon arrival from Rabat on Monday. (Photo / FECAFOOT)
This followed pent up disaffection with the national men’s team; the Indomitable Lions, who they say have not roared since winning their fifth continental crown in Gabon in 2017.
The team has since experienced mixed results, failing to capture another continental title, with their best performance being a third-place finish on home soil in 2022.
The victory of the Indomitable Lionesses has shifted public and media attention from President Paul Biya's unexplained prolonged absence from the country, which has dominated group discussions and headlines in major news outlets in the last couple of weeks.
In a message on his official social media handle, Biya congratulated the “valiant, gifted, and Indomitable Lionesses” following what he described as their “magnificent 2026 Africa Cup of Nations trophy, secured through a performance of consummate artistry and unwavering resolve”.
The victory of the Indomitable Lionesses has shifted public and media attention from President Paul Biya's unexplained prolonged absence from the country. (Photo / Ndi Eugene Ndi)
There are local media reports, including from media and media personalities very close to the Yaounde regime, that the veteran leader will receive the girls at the State House this weekend, implying he will return to the country before then.
Despite missing the trophy at the 2016 tournament, the Indomitable Lionesses were treated to a rapturous presidential reception at the State House, known as the Unity Palace in Yaounde after finishing vice champions.
Biya left the country on June 7 for what his office described as "a brief private stay in Europe" and has since not returned sparking speculations about his health and ability to continue governing the country.
Cameroon's President Paul Biya (right) bids farewell to Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute as his wife Chantal Biya looks on before departing the country on June 7 for what his office described as "a brief private stay in Europe.” Biya, 93, has since not returned sparking speculations about his health and ability to continue governing the country. (Photo / Pool)
