Speech by His Excellency Paul BIYA at the Reception for the National Women’s Football Team, the Indomitable Lionesses, at Unity Palace – 22 August 2026

SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY PAUL BIYA, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC

My wife and I are delighted to welcome you to Unity Palace, to celebrate with you and the entire Cameroonian people your outstanding performance at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, which has just taken place in Morocco.

On 16 August in Rabat, you flew the Cameroonian flag on top of Africa by winning the 14th edition of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in a spectacular manner.

By the same token, you have qualified for the Women’s

World Cup which will be hosted by Brazil in 2027.

On behalf of my wife, on my own behalf and on behalf of the entire Cameroonian nation, I heartily congratulate you on this exploit.

You thrilled us throughout the matches with your courage, determination, commitment and talent.

You impressed us with your dynamism, your sense of discipline, your team spirit and your show of solidarity.

You amazed us with the performances of BIHINA, Monique NGOCK and many others, but above all, with the sturdiness of your collective.

You made us happy; you made us proud.

On this day, the nation, through me, expresses its deepest gratitude to you.

This gratitude naturally extends to your technical support team, who did an extraordinary job.

Dear Indomitable Lionesses,

On several occasions in the past, you reached the final of this competition. Unfortunately, the trophy always eluded you.

But you did not lose heart. You picked yourselves up. You worked hard. You remained focused. You tried, and tried...