Tabitha Chawinga

Tabitha Chawinga
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-05-22) 22 May 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Rumphi, Malawi
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Lyon
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2014 DD Sunshine 24 (83)
2014 Krokom/Dvärsätts IF [sv] 17 (39)
2015–2017 Kvarnsvedens IK 70 (84)
2018–2020 Jiangsu Suning 78 (62)
2021–2024 Wuhan Jianghan University 8 (11)
2022–2023 → Inter Milan (loan) 23 (23)
2023–2024 → Paris Saint-Germain (loan) 21 (19)
2024– Lyon 2 (1)
International career
2011– Malawi 9 (25)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 July 2024

Tabitha Chaŵinga (born 22 May 1996) is a Malawian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Première Ligue club Lyon and the Malawi national team.

Early life

Born on May 19, 1996, in Rumphi District in northern Malawi, Chaŵinga is the third of five children born to her parents. She is of Tumbuka ethnicity. She began playing football at age five and played with boys until age 13 when she began playing for girls' club, DD Sunshine in the capital city, Lilongwe.[1] Already at this age she was forced to undress because "Her opponents did not believe she was female because of her physical appearance and how well she played."[2] Her sister Temwa Chawinga is also a professional footballer.[3]

Club career

Krokom/Dvärsätts IF, 2014

At age 18, Chaŵinga played for Swedish third-division club Krokom/Dvärsätts IF [sv], where she earned the league's golden boot after scoring 39 goals in 18 games.[4] She was the first women's footballer from Malawi to play for a European club.[5]

Kvarnsvedens IK, 2015–2017

Chaŵinga joined Kvarnsvedens IK in Sweden's Elitettan in 2015. In her debut for the club, she scored a brace in a 4–0 win over Lidköpings FK.[6] The club finished in first place during the regular season with a 21–2–3 record.[7] Chaŵinga was the league's top scorer with 43 goals – 14 more than the next highest scorer.[7] The club's first place finish secured them promotion to the Damallsvenskan for the 2016 season.[8]

During the 2016 season, Chaŵinga was the third highest scorer in the league with 15 goals.[9]

In 2017, she finished as the league's top scorer with 26 goals,[10] despite her club's relegation from the Swedish top flight at the end of the season.

Jiangsu Suning, 2018–2021

After successful spells in Sweden, Chaŵinga gained the interest from various top clubs abroad[11] and eventually signed for Chinese side Jiangsu Suning,[12] reportedly for a record-breaking transfer fee in Swedish women's football.[13][14] On 6 May 2018, she scored the winning goal in her full-length debut away to Shanghai.[15]

Chaŵinga received the Player of the Year Award in her debut season playing in the Chinese Women's Super League. She scored 31 goals in all competitions, 17 being in the CWSL.[16] She retained the award in 2019–20, scoring 12 league goals (38 in all competitions) and helping Jiangsu to a historic quadruple.[17]

Wuhan Jiangda 2021–2024

After the main sponsor of Jiangsu Suning stopped supporting Chaŵinga, she moved to Wuhan Jiangda where her sister Temwa played.[3] Wuhan sent her on successive loan spells to Inter Milan and Paris Saint Germain. After her loan spell with Paris Saint Germain, without returning to China, Chaŵinga signed for reigning French champions Lyon.

Inter Milan (loan), 2022–23

Chaŵinga signed a one-year loan deal with Inter Milan for the 2022–23 season.[18] She was the top scorer in Serie A with 23 goals for Inter Milan, 16 of them in the regular season. She was the first African woman to be the highest-scoring player in Serie A.[17]

Paris Saint-Germain (loan), 2023–2024

Chaŵinga joined Paris Saint-Germain on a season long loan deal.[19] Chaŵinga reunited with manager Gérard Prêcheur, under whom she had worked during the 2018–19 CWSL season with Jiangsu Suning.[20] However, he left the position in September 2023.[21]

Chaŵinga scored her first goal for PSG in a 1–0 victory away at Saint-Etienne.[22] She also became the first Malawian to play and score in the UEFA Women's Champion's League with her goal in a 1–1 tie with Manchester United.[23]

In the 74th minute against BK Häcken in the first leg of the 2023–24 Champions League quarterfinal, Chaŵinga scored the winning goal making it 2–1.[24]

International career

Chaŵinga serves as captain for Malawi.[25]

Due to club football, Chaŵinga was absent from Malawi's 2023 victory in the COSAFA Women's Championship.[26]

Personal life

Chaŵinga's sister Temwa is also a Malawian international footballer.[3]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season, and competition. Only official games are included in this table.[27][28][29]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
DD Sunshine 2009–10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2010–11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2011–12 14 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 40
2012–13 10 43 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 43
2013–14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 24 83 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 83
Krokom/Dvärsätts IF [sv] 2014 18 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 39
Kvarnsvedens IK 2015 26 43 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 43
2016 22 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 15
2017 22 25 1 1 0 0 0 0 23 26
Total 70 83 1 1 0 0 0 0 71 86
Jiangsu Suning 2018 14 17 0 0 1 0 0 0 15 17
2019 14 12 2+ 6 1 0 3 3 20+ 21
2020 12 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 7
Total 40 36 2+ 6 2 0 0 0 44+ 42
Wuhan Jianghan University 2021 14 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 9
2022 10 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 8
2023 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3
Total 27 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 20
Inter Milan (loan) 2022–23 23 23 4 3 0 0 0 0 27 26
Paris Saint-Germain (loan) 2023–24 21 19 5 4 0 0 12 6 38 29
Lyon 2023–24 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
Total 225 304 11+ 14 2 0 13 8 241+ 326+

International goals

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 13 September 2017 Barbourfields Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe  Zambia 1–0 3–6 2017 COSAFA Women's Championship
2. 2–3
3. 3–5
4. 15 September 2017  Madagascar 1–0 6–3
5. 2–0
6. 5–3
7. 6–3
8. 17 September 2017 Luveve Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe  Zimbabwe 2–3 3–3
9. 3–3
10. 4 April 2019 Kamuzu Stadium, Blantyre, Malawi  Mozambique 1–0 11–1 2020 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
11. 3–0
12. 11–0
13. 9 April 2019 Estádio do Zimpeto, Maputo, Mozambique  Mozambique 2–0 3–0
14. 28 August 2019 Kamuzu Stadium, Blantyre, Malawi  Kenya 2–1 3–2
15. 3–1
16. 7 November 2020 Wolfson Stadium, Ibhayi, South Africa  Lesotho 2–0 9–0 2020 COSAFA Women's Championship
17. 4–0
18. 5–0
19. 6–0
20. 8–0
21. 9–0
22. 12 November 2020  South Africa 2–6 2–6
23. 5 September 2022 NMU Stadium, Gqeberha, South Africa  Comoros 3–0 6–0 2022 COSAFA Women's Championship
24. 4–0
25. 5–0

Honours

Kvarnsvedens IK

Jiangsu Suning

Wuhan Jianghan University

Paris Saint-Germain

Individual

References

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  2. ^ Pensulo, Charles (6 August 2021). "'A violation': football star recounts having to strip during match to prove she was female". The Guardian.
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