History Written in Gold: Sierra Queens Stun Defending Champions Senegal to Win First Ever WAFU A Women’s Title – But Call Out Government for Neglect
𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐨𝐮𝐚𝐤𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐭, 𝐒𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 — 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬 — 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝟏-𝟎 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭-𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐀𝐅𝐔 𝐀 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞.
The nation erupted in celebration as Captain Salamatu Kamara coolly slotted home a decisive 68th-minute penalty, delivering the knockout blow to a stunned Senegalese side, earning her the 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 award and etching her name in Sierra Leonean football history. Her composure under pressure led the Queens to an unforgettable victory — one born not only from talent, but from unshakable willpower.
But while Kamara sealed the win on the scoresheet, it was goalkeeper Hannah Juana who solidified her legacy as the tournament’s undisputed star. Juana delivered yet another heroic performance between the posts — earning her the prestigious titles of both 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, an extraordinary and rare achievement for any goalkeeper on the African stage.
𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞: 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲.
“𝗪𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱,” said one senior player, visibly emotional after the final whistle. “𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐠, 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬.”
Captain Salamatu Kamara echoed the sentiment, adding: “𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 — 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐬, 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧: 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭.”
The players went through the entire tournament with support from only the Sierra Leone Football Association, and some well meaning Sierra Leoneans who stepped in to provide resources to meet the basic needs of the girls while flying the national flag.
Despite the lack of official backing from government, the Queens showcased professionalism, patriotism, and raw determination — toppling the reigning champions and turning adversity into triumph. Their statement is now as loud as their victory: support women’s football, or risk silencing the dreams of a generation.
This title is more than a trophy. It is a statement of resilience, a demand for respect, and a cry for change.
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🏆 FINAL SCORE:
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone 1 – 0 🇸🇳 Senegal
⚽ Goal: Salamatu Kamara (PEN, 68’)
🧤 Woman of the Match & Best Player of the Tournament: Hannah Juana
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#SierraQueens #WAFUAChampions #NeglectedButVictorious #SupportWomenInSports #ProudlySalone
©️ SLFA Media Department
