Malawi have been the surprise package of the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon), but the source of the goals which have fired the tournament debutants into Sunday's final against Cameroon ( ) has been less of a shock. Sisters Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga are the undoubted stars of the show, scoring nine of Malawi's 12 goals - with Temwa leading the golden boot race with fives strikes alongside Zambia's Barbra Banda. And while the Scorchers are the lowest-ranked side at the finals in Morocco, at 153rd in the world, the siblings have already won silverware for some of football's biggest clubs.
Born on 22 May 1996 in the northern district of Rumphi, Tabitha is the older sister. The 30-year-old began playing football as a child with boys in her village, with a ball made out of plastic or paper. "Growing up, I never saw myself as different from boys," she told the BBC.
"Whatever they did I believed I could." "My mum beat me because she was embarrassed," Chawinga told Africa Daily in 2023. "People would provoke my mum: 'Look at your daughter - maybe she will not be married in the future. Your daughter, she doesn't want to go to school.' "Even my friends said: 'No women can play football in this world'." Tabitha persisted and her journey to international stardom began when she moved to join DD Sunshine in the capital Lilongwe.
Tabitha draws strongly on her Christian faith, paying tribute to God during many of her media engagements. A switch to Europe came in 2014 after an American working for a non-governmental organisation had a spell at DD Sunshine before relocating to Sweden. The NGO worker joined third-tier side Krokom Dvarsatts, and DD Sunshine owner David Dube then suggested the Swedes try out Tabitha as well.
"When Krokom Dvarsatts hesitated, Mr Dube offered to pay visa and flight costs for me to travel to Sweden for trials," said Tabitha. "I joined the team and they were immediately impressed with my strength, dribbling, shooting from far and scoring skills." She had to wait until after her 18th birthday to make her debut, then became the first Malawian woman to play in Europe and scored 39 times in 14 games. Tabitha continued her exploits at second-tier Kvarnsveden, netting 43 goals to help them win promotion, and was then leading scorer in the Swedish top flight in 2017.
A six-year spell in China followed, which saw her win three league titles, three golden boots and two player of the season awards. A successful loan with Inter Milan in 2022-23 also saw her win the Serie A golden boot. "My goal is to achieve for African people," she said after that feat.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
