Orange Cameroun offers Lionesses gifts worth 32 million FCFA.

This was during a reception ceremony organised by the Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT in Yaounde. It was attended by FECAFOOT president, Samuel Eto’o Fils, and other stakeholders. 

The event followed the Indomitable Lionesses’ triumphant return to Cameroon earlier Monday with the WAFCON trophy. The team hit the milestone after humbling Malawi 3 nil in Rabat on Sunday, August 16.

The outfit, in the course of the impressive unbeaten ride in the tournament, also qualified for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. 

Orange Cameroun celebrating queens

According to Orange Cameroun officials, the offer is the company’s way to celebrate the newly-crowned queens of women’s football in Africa. 

The company said the much-acclaimed exploit of the Lionesses has won the hearts of millions of Cameroonians.

Orange Cameroun also noted that the gesture restates its longstanding commitment to promoting the development of women’s football in Cameroon.

This, it said, is through partnerships of several forms with stakeholders of the sport in the country.

“A strong gesture that reflects our constant commitment to Cameroonian women’s football and the powerful emotions they brought us throughout the competition,” Orange Cameroun noted.

The move adds to a series of activities that the telecommunications company has been carrying out since the Indomitable Lionesses secured WAFCON on Sunday.

Orange Cameroun was fully involved in the far-reaching mobilisation to ensure captain Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene and her teammates were given heroes’ welcome from Morocco.

The company officials were part of the frontline stakeholders, fans and well-wishers who notably travelled with the team from the Yaounde Nsimalen International Airport to the Mont Febe Hotel where the team is resting.

In a separate post on its Facebook page following the team’s success, Orange Cameroun hailed the team’s success a demonstration of the strength of the Cameroonian woman.

“They are strong. They are proud. They are determined. They fly the colours of Cameroon high and make our country shine far beyond our borders,” the telecommunications company noted.

“Just like our Indomitable Lionesses, every Cameroonian woman is a source of courage, passion, and inspiration,” the company further stated, while restating its unflinching commitment and dedication to standing alongside the team.

True friends of the Indomitable Lionesses

Overall, the donation and Orange Cameroun’s role in mobilising the public to welcome the team home served as the last key lap of the several activities that the company undertook to support the Lionesses.

At a more impactful level, the telecommunications company served as official sponsor of the team in the tournament. The Company supported the participation of the then three-time vice African champions as part of its long-running partnership with FECAFOOT.

Before the team left Cameroon for Morocco weeks to the start of the tournament, Orange Cameroun gifted all members of the 26-women squad communications credit. 

The move was aimed at strategically enabling all the members of the team to stay in contact with their love ones while abroad.

The Company handed out the communication tool to the athletes during a meet and greet session which was organized at the Complex Mundi in the outskirt of Yaounde. This was where the team camped and trained for several weeks before flying out to the North African country.

The institution equally established Orange Cameroun fan zones to enable Cameroonians and other football fans to watch matches of the tournament with their love ones. 

The company set up the viewing centres in the country’s commercial hub, Douala in the Littoral Region and Yaounde in the political capital during the tournament. 

Over 25 years of impactful support

Orange Cameroun has been a faithful and an impactful supporter of football in Cameroon for over 25 years.

Schemes aimed at supporting football in the country which are introduced through the company’s partnerships with FECAFOOT and other institutions cover both the men and women’s national football teams.

But the support goes beyond the national teams whose exploits have now positioned Cameroon as one of just three African countries that have won the WAFCON.

The telecommunications company is also respected in Cameroon and beyond for its strategic role in promoting the development of football.

The company has been working with FECAFOOT and most recently, the Cameroon National Football Academy, ANAFOOT, in carrying out actions aimed at detecting and grooming the next generation of football stars.

Orange Cameroun’s longstanding support of youth football in the country will be celebrated at the Yaounde Conference Centre on August 26 during the latest edition of the institution’s scheme dubbed the Draft ceremony.

During the 2025 edition of the ceremony which was organized in August last year, the institution released figures indicating that its collaboration with ANAFOOT and other bodies in the sector has facilitated the training of thousands of young footballers.

The company and its partners revealed at the time that over 2000 young footballers had been trained through the project with ANAFOOT. 

The deal was introduced to replace a two-decade old scheme that saw the Orange Cameroun mainly supporting grassroots football through investments in holiday championships.

It said some 214 of the players were actively plying their trades with Elite championship clubs in Cameroon while 51 others had been integrated to play for the various national football teams. 

The company added that 26 members of  had been pre-selected by European clubs in 2025 with midfielder Hamadou Moubarack representing the biggest success story following his transfer from the academy to a Spanish giants Villareal football club.

Orange Cameroun keeping its promises 

The highly-acclaimed strides have seen Orange Cameroun, further realigning with the targets of its parent company Orange S.A. 

It has demonstrated its unflinching commitment to promoting football development, equality and inclusion on the African continent.

Since 2008, Orange has worked with Africa’s football governing body, the Confederation of African Football, CAF, and national federations in enhancing the growth and popularity of the sport with investments covering both men and women’s teams.

Orange Cameroun sponsored four of the 16 teams at WAFCON 2026 in Morocco. Apart from Cameroon which went on to secure the winner’s trophy of the tournament, the company also sponsored the West African trio of Burkina Faso, Mali and Cote d’Ivoire. 

Cote d’Ivoire progressed to the quarterfinals despite the fact that the appearance at the Morocco showpiece marked their return in 12 years.

The company in a statement released recently, described the investments as a demonstration of its dedication to using sports to promote equality.

It said it has since 2018, split its sports sponsorships equally between women’s and men’s sports in Africa and Europe. The Orange Group termed the move as “a clear, practical way to support gender equality over the long term.

“Our partnership with the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 is about more than visibility. Supporting women’s football in Africa is a practical way to help create a more equal and inclusive society,” the parent company stated.

It added that “at Orange, we believe sport can change how people see the world and each other. Every match that gets more attention helps make football more open, representative, and accessible. And every player’s story shows young girls that there’s a place for them in the game too”.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3884 of Thursday August 20, 2026