Cameroon's first WAFCON crown, finally

A historic first

For all the times Cameroon have been close, this was the night it actually happened. The Indomitable Queens have been one of the continent's most consistent women's sides for years, and on Sunday in front of a packed Olympic Stadium they finally converted that consistency into a title, beating Malawi 3-0 to lift the Women's Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in their history.

The margin tells the story cleanly enough. Cameroon were the more experienced side, the more organised side, and on the night the more ruthless side. Three goals with none conceded in a final is not a lucky night. It is a statement.

Malawi's fairytale run, ended

The result should not diminish what Malawi achieved in reaching the final at all. As debutants at the tournament, their run to the showpiece was the kind of story continental football produces every few years, a side nobody had pencilled in for the final suddenly standing in it. They ran out of road against Cameroon, but the journey was real.

The 3-0 scoreline suggests the gap in experience told in the end. Malawi had nothing left to prove by the time the final whistle went. Cameroon did, and they proved it.

What it means

For women's football in Central Africa, this is a landmark result. Cameroon have long been the region's flagship side at continental level, and a first WAFCON crown gives that standing something concrete to point at. The tournament, held in Kenya, drew the kind of attention that only grows when the final produces a historic winner.

The goalscorers and key moments from Sunday's final had not been confirmed by the time of publication, according to Capital Sports, whose report carried the result. Flagside will update this piece as those details are confirmed.