Cameroon qualified to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games through the African Olympic Qualification Tournament, which they hosted in Yaounde. The Cameroonians, which banked on the home crowd in the preliminary round, fairly earned the Olympic berth as they delivered a straight-set victory over Algeria in the semifinal, then topped it off with a tie-break win over Egypt in the final. Cameroon will mark their first Olympic appearance at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Cameroon qualified twice for the World Championship. In their two World Championship stints, Cameroon finished both tournaments in joint-21st place.
Cameroon claimed the silver medal at the 1999 African Cahmpionship and repeated that performance at the 2013 edition. Their victories over Algeria, Egypt, Senegal and Tunisia gave them a chance to win gold, but Kenya defeated them and they had to settle for silver. This was still a significant improvement on their fifth place finish in 2011 and signalled their return as one of the top two teams in African volleyball, six years after winning a silver medal at the 2007 All Africa Games. The Lionesses are mentored by former Cameroon men’s star Jean-Rene Akono, who was appointed coach in July 2014.