Cameroon’s Lionesses Board Flight for Nairobi Carrying a Nation’s Hopes

The Indomitable Lionesses received Cameroon’s national flag on Friday at the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education, a formal send-off ahead of their departure for the 2026 African Nations Championship in Nairobi, Kenya. The minister handed the colours to the squad directly after a small ceremony but one loaded with meaning for a team about to represent the country on the continental stage.

Fecavolley president Bello Bourdanne attended, alongside head coach Lavoisier Yende and his full technical staff. The entire delegation was present, a fitting audience for a squad that has put in serious groundwork to get here.

That groundwork started at the Palais des Sports in Yaoundé with an external training camp, then moved to Istanbul for a two-week acclimatisation stint. In Turkey, the players faced elite club sides in friendlies, the kind of testing fixtures that sharpen timing and build genuine cohesion rather than just fitness.

Captain Simone Bikatal summed up the mood plainly after the ceremony. “Our group is strong, we believe in ourselves,” she said.

Cameroon now travel to Nairobi with a clear run of preparation behind them and with the ambition of claiming the podium at the CAVB African Women’s volleyball championship.