For the fifth time in a row and for the 16th time in history, Angola secured the continental title at the CAHB African Women's Handball Championship, with a dominating performance, which saw Carlos Viver’s side win seven matches, all by a minimum of nine goals.

Senegal sealed the silver medal, while the podium was completed by Tunisia, with the first four sides in the competition, including Egypt, securing their berths for the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship.

The 12 participating sides at the 2024 CAHB African Women's Handball Championship, which took place between 27 November and 7 December in Kinshasa, DR Congo, were divided into two groups of six teams each, won by Congo and Angola.

Reigning champions Angola, winners of 12 of the last 13 editions of the CAHB African Women’s Handball Championship, swept their way into the quarter-finals, dominating their opponents in fantastic fashion, boasting five wins in five matches, with the best attack, scoring 188 goals in five matches, and the best defence, conceding only 85 goals.

A 36:23 win against Tunisia in the start of the competition was followed by a dominating performance against Uganda, where they took a 46:11 win. Then, Angola beat Guinea, 35:22, and forced their way into a fantastic 31:14 win against Cameroon, which finished as runners-up in the previous two editions of the competition, before sealing their fifth win against hosts DR Congo, 40:15.

Cameroon finished second, with four wins and a single loss, with Laeticia Ateba delivering a flawless performance in a crucial match against DR Congo, 25:23, with the hosts finishing on the third position, with three wins. The last qualified team from Group B was Tunisia, which had a better goal difference, +13, than Guinea’s -1, after the two sides finished in a stalemate, 28:28.

Group A was clearly more balanced, with three sides ending up with eight points, but Congo were the winners of the group, thanks to a better head-to-head goal difference in their three-way tie with Egypt and Senegal.

Congo started on the wrong foot, with a 23:27 loss against Egypt, but bounced back and finished the preliminary round with four wins on the trot, with the most crucial one coming in the last matchday, 25:17 against Senegal, as Fanta Diagouraga scored seven goals. Therefore, in the three-way tie, Congo led the way, with a +3 goal difference, followed by Egypt, with a +1 goal difference, and Senegal with a -3 goal difference.

Senegal beat Egypt, 21:16, but had the worst goal difference between the three sides and ended on the third place, with the final quarter-finals berth going to Algeria, whose 20:16 win against Cape Verde in the first day of the competition was crucial.

However, the quarter-finals provided two big shocks, when Tunisia defeated Congo, 28:24, after a stellar performance from Sondes Hachana, who scored eight goals, while Senegal defeated Cameroon by seven goals, 26:19.

Hosts DR Congo were eliminated by Egypt, which ensured they had the best finish in their history after the 3rd place in the inaugural edition of the CAHB African Women's Handball Championship, in 1974, 23:22, while reigning champions Angola clinched their place in the semi-finals with a 34:15 win over Algeria.

There was no question about the two semi-finalists, with Angola totally outplaying Egypt, 36:22, while Senegal also steamrolled Tunisia, 26:18, as Soukeina Sagna scored nine goals.

The final was also a straightforward affair, more lopsided than the previous last act between Angola and Senegal, which took place in 2018. Angola took control early and cruised to a 27:18 win, thanks to six goals from line player Albertina Kassoma and back Helena Paulo each.

It was Angola’s 16th title in history and the fifth in a row, as the African powerhouse earned their 19th medal in the competition. For Senegal, it was their third silver medal, after the ones sealed in 1974 and 2018.

In the bronze medal match, Tunisia clinched a 25:22 win over Egypt, marking their fourth bronze and their 12th overall medal in the competition, as they sit third in the all-time standings at the CAHB African Women's Handball Championship below Angola and Congo.

The four sides making it to the semi-finals also secured a place at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship. Tunisia will return for the first time since 2021 in the world handball flagship competition, Senegal will appear for the third time in the line-up, while Egypt are making their debut at the IHF Women’s World Championship.

Credit photo: CAHB