Senegal Women

Although football in Senegal has traditionally been viewed as a male domain, women's football began taking shape as early as 1970 with the creation of the Gazelles of Dakar, led by Elliot Khouma. The team played its first international match in 1974 against Italy's Lombarda Calcio during a municipal exchange with Milan. Despite lacking official structures, the women's game grew steadily through the 1970s, with clubs such as the Dorades of Mbour, Abeilles of Bignona, and Tigresses of Ziguinchor emerging. Initiatives like the founding of the Colombes Pie XII in 1979 also helped promote the sport among young women. It was not until 2002 that the Senegalese Football Federation formally established the first women's national team, marking a major milestone in the sport's development.

The team entered the qualification campaign for the 5th African Women's Championship in 2002. Initially drawn against Guinea-Bissau, Senegal advanced by default following their opponent's withdrawal. In the second round, they faced Ghana, marking their official competitive debut on 22 September 2002 with a 3–0 home defeat to the Black Queens in Dakar. The return leg in Accra ended in a 3–1 loss, with Absah Gueye scoring Senegal's first-ever goal in an official international match.

Senegal returned for the 2004 qualifiers but were eliminated after a heavy 12–3 aggregate defeat to Nigeria. The team showed notable progress in the 2006 campaign, recording their first official win with a 4–0 victory over the Central African Republic, who later withdrew from the second leg. In the following round, Senegal secured a dominant 12–1 aggregate triumph over Guinea, which included a historic 7–0 win, their largest to date. However, their qualification hopes were dashed in the final round, falling just short against DR Congo by a one-goal margin. Similar near misses occurred in the 2008 and 2010 editions, with the team unable to reach the final tournament.

In the 2012 African Women's Championship qualification campaign, Senegal were initially drawn against Burundi, who withdrew in the preliminary round. They then faced Morocco in the final qualifying round, advancing 5–4 on penalties after two goalless draws. With that victory, Senegal made history by qualifying for their first major tournament. Placed in the same group as the host nation, the team made its debut in the tournament with a one-nil loss to the Leopards of Congo on 28 October 2012, then went on to lose the next two group stage matches ending the group phase without scoring a goal, finishing with the worst record among the qualified teams that year.

Despite the 2012 setback, Senegal has maintained consistent participation in every qualification campaign since their debut in 2002. Although they did not qualify between 2014 and 2018, the team remained a competitive presence, regularly challenging their opponents and showing gradual improvement. During this period, the team played several friendly matches with mixed results. In 2018, Senegal took part in the inaugural WAFU Zone B Women's Cup, opening the tournament with a commanding 6–0 win over Togo. However, consecutive defeats in their next two group matches saw them exit at the group stage. The following year, their performance declined further, as they lost all three group games in the 2019 edition—including a reversal against Togo, who had beaten them despite the heavy loss a year prior.

In 2020, WAFU Zone A launched its own women's tournament, with Senegal taking part in the inaugural edition. The team began with a 1–0 victory over Guinea on 25 February and advanced to the final unbeaten, following wins over Cape Verde and Liberia and a draw against Sierra Leone. In the final, Senegal defeated regional rivals Mali 3–0 to claim the first-ever trophy in the history of the women's national team.

In October 2021, Senegal began their qualification campaign for the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations with an emphatic 8–1 aggregate win over Liberia. In the second round, they eliminated Mali on penalties after both legs ended in 1–0 home victories, securing their return to the continental tournament. On 3 July 2022, Senegal recorded their first-ever win in the final tournament by defeating Uganda 2–0, followed by a victory over Burkina Faso to reach the quarter-finals for the first time. After a penalty shootout loss to Zambia in the last eight, they overcame Tunisia—also on penalties—in the repechage playoff to reach the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup inter-confederation play-offs, marking their closest attempt yet at qualifying for the global stage.

The year 2023 marked further progress and maturity for the Lionesses. In January, they successfully defended their WAFU Zone A title, winning the tournament with a perfect record and defeating hosts Cape Verde 1–0 in the final. On 18 February 2023, Senegal faced Haiti in the inter-confederation play-offs, suffering a 0–4 defeat in their first encounter with non-African opposition. Later in the year, they secured back-to-back WAFCON qualifications for the first time in their history, overcoming Mozambique and Egypt with aggregate wins of 3–2 and 4–0, respectively.

In May 2025, the third edition of the WAFU Zone A Women's Cup saw Senegal—two-time reigning champions and previously unbeaten in the competition—suffer their first defeat and relinquish their title. After topping their group and defeating Liberia in the semi-finals, the Lionesses were narrowly beaten 1–0 by Sierra Leone in the final, marking both their first loss in the tournament's history and the end of their reign as champions.