Nguele’s 16-year wait rewarded as Cameroon make women’s football history

Valentine Nguele guided Cameroon to their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title only two months after taking charge of the Indomitable Lionesses, completing a remarkable rise from former international player to continental champion.

The 46-year-old coach led Cameroon to a 3-0 victory over Malawi in the final in Rabat on 16 August, securing a landmark triumph for the country. The victory also earned the Lionesses qualification for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

Nguele was appointed on 12 June after Cameroon were reinstated for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. With little time to prepare for the tournament, she and her coaching staff had to rebuild a team still searching for its identity.

Their approach combined the experience of established players such as Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene and Ngo Mbeleck with a younger generation. An initial squad of 42 players was eventually reduced to 26 for the competition.

Cameroon finished top of their group before overcoming Nigeria in the quarter-finals and then defeating hosts Morocco in the semi-finals. They completed their campaign in emphatic fashion against Malawi.

Marie Ngah Manga opened the scoring in the final before Naomi Eto added a second. Ngah Manga struck again to complete a 3-0 win and deliver Cameroon’s first continental championship.

For Nguele, the success represents the culmination of a long period of work away from the spotlight.

“I am a former Cameroon international footballer. Today, I have been involved in coaching for 16 years. I have worked and been patient,” she said after the final.

She has won 10 Cameroon league titles and collected several other honours with clubs and at the Francophonie Games. Her coaching qualifications developed gradually, with CAF C, B and A licences completed in 2011, 2015 and 2023 respectively.

Nguele had already established a reputation in the domestic women’s game before being selected by FECAFOOT. She previously managed Louves Minproff and later took charge of FC Ebolowa, where she became one of the most successful coaches in the Cameroon championship.

She won the league with FC Ebolowa in 2024 and remained in charge when she was called into national-team duty. Her appointment made her the first woman to become head coach of the Indomitable Lionesses.

“I tell others to work and wait for the right moment because patience pays off,” she added.

That outlook was tested immediately. Nguele had only a matter of weeks to shape Cameroon into a team capable of competing for the title, but she said reaching the final was built on focused tactical and collective preparation.

“Reaching the final of the Africa Cup of Nations is the result of at least two to three months of tactical and collective work,” she explained.

Her coaching philosophy is based on involvement and shared responsibility.

“Football is a real passion. I love the moments I spend on the pitch every day. My style is participative and involved,” she said.

The final also required a specific plan to contain Malawi’s main attacking threat, the Chawinga sisters. Cameroon’s staff prepared carefully for their pace and movement in the forward areas.

“We already knew a little about the Malawi team, knowing they had the Chawinga sisters, who were very fast up front. We made a special plan for them and had our own plan to win. It was the best attack against the best defence and our plan worked,” Nguele said.

The title has transformed the profile of a coach who spent 16 years building her career patiently. Once an international player, then a qualified coach and a respected figure in Cameroon’s domestic championship, Nguele has now become the first woman to lead the Lionesses to the country’s first continental crown.

Her brief time with a national team in transition has produced the moment she had been waiting for.