Unity Palace: State Honours Heroic Lionesses

F rom the pitch in Rabat, Morocco where they conquered the entire continent in style and harvested the first- ever trophy for Cameroon in the female football Africa Cup of Nations, the Indomitable Lionesses on Saturday had another rendezvous with history. This time around at the Unity Palace with Cameroon’s first couple, Paul and Chantal Biya, who gladly received the heroines, ce­ lebrated their unprecedented exploits and communed as a family. It was a culmination of the celebration that began with the victory at the final on August 16 and their triumphal return home the next day. The entire nation honouring ex­ cellence from the girls! Indeed, the atmosphere at the third-floor Ambassador’s Hall, adjacent the Head of State’s office, was joyous, marked by hugs and smiles, among the Indomitable Lionesses, between them and a cross-section of State officials who were convened for the reception and much more, with the first sportsman, Paul Biya and wife, Chantal Biya. It couldn’t have been otherwise judging from the depth and worth of the unpre­ cedented and hard-earned victory. The team went as near underdogs, brought in to fill one of the four added places following a decision by the Confede­ ration of African Football to move the tourney from the usual 12 to 16 competing nations, after an initial elimination during the qualifiers. Very few saw such a team progress any far but the girls defied all bookmakers to ride past all opponents from the group stage to the final. The fact that their unstoppable trophy-bound drive left casualties like ten-time champions, Nigeria, in the quarter-finals and host Morocco in the semi-finals before the icing on the cake at the final with a 3-0 spanking of no-nonsense and exuberant Malawi, made the victory even sweeter and memorable. An outstanding performance that also qualified the now African Queens for the football Female World Cup in Brazil next year. The joy of the victory therefore cut across Cameroon and beyond and the Head of State was not indifferent. “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,” President Paul Biya told the team. While saluting the exemplary track record which, he said, should be a source of inspiration for the entire nation, espe­ cially the y...