- Over the past 18 months, women’s football in Cameroon has been a rollercoaster ride—a blend of triumphs and setbacks, fueled by unwavering determination
- While the youth teams stitch together the strongest threads, the national team faces the bitter reality of missing out on three international competitions
- The 2024 Paris Olympics stands as the latest tournament where Celine Eko’s girls will not grace the field
Cameroon’s women’s football, once a beacon of hope and pride, now grapples with an unfamiliar reality.
For the first time in decades, the indomitable Lionesses find themselves on the sidelines, missing out on two of the world’s most prestigious football tournaments; The 2024 Women’s Africa cup of nations and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This heartache follows their failure to qualify for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World cup, staged in Australia and New Zealand.
The Lionesses, who had graced the world cup stage for two consecutive years, were silenced in the quarter finals of the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations by Nigeria on a 0-1 score line.
Their defeat not only cost them the AFCON trophy but also jeopardized their chances of securing one of the four World Cup spots.
Condemnd to the 10-team intercontinental playoffs, the lionesses will falter against Portugal in the last round after defeating Thailand to see their world cup hopes dashed to the mud.
The 2024 women’s Africa cup of nations miss, is another blow dealt to this four times WAFCON second place. Drawn against Kenya in the first round of the qualifiers, Aboudi Ougene and teammates under new gaffer Jean Baptiste Bisseck will be booted out of the qualifiers on penalties (3-4).
A Shilwatso’s goal aided by an error from goalkeeper Michaely Bihina will cancel out Manbolamo’s one goal lead gotten in the first fixture at the reunification stadium which will see the game to penalties. The Harambee Starlets will sail through, only to be booted out of the WAFCON by Botswana in the second round.
Their absence reverberates. The tournament, hosted by Morocco, will witness other nations vying for glory. But Cameroon’s colors won’t grace the field.
The 2024 Olympics, the pinnacle of athletic achievement, remains a distant dream. The Lionesses, once contenders, now face the harsh reality of exclusion.
In the qualifiers, the Lionesses, who entered the race in the second round, made an impressive comeback by overturning a two-goal deficit against Uganda, securing a 3-2 aggregate victory.
This qualification set them up for a clash against one of Africa’s finest sides—the Super Falcons—in the third round of qualifiers. A challenge they failed to conquer in Abuja.
From a zero all tie on home turf, Jean Baptiste Bisseck will be forced to fight for the qualification ticket in the Nigerian backyard in Abuja, unfortunately Esther Okoronkwo’s 16th minute goal will be the lone goal registered in the the two legged encounter.
While this is the second competition missed by the Lionesses under Bisseck’s tenure, it marks the third setback in the past 18 months.
However, a different reality unfolds for the youth selection. The U20 national team has secured qualification for the 11th edition of the biennial Women’s World Cup in Colombia, scheduled from August 31 to September 22, 2024.
Their recent victory in the UNIFFAC competition, held in Cameroon’s economic capital, Douala, brings hope for a brighter future in women’s football.
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