Tabitha Chawinga (born 22 May 1996) is a Malawian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Division 1 Féminine club Paris Saint-Germain, on loan from Chinese side Wuhan Jianghan University. She also plays for the Malawi national team.

Tabitha Chawinga
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-05-22) 22 May 1996 (age 27)
Place of birth Rumphi, Malawi
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Paris Saint-Germain
(on loan from Wuhan Jianghan University)
Number 22
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Krokom/Dvärsätts IF [sv] 17 (39)
2015–2017 Kvarnsvedens IK 70 (84)
2018–2020 Jiangsu Suning 78 (62)
2021– Wuhan Jianghan University ? (?)
2022–2023Inter Milan (loan) 23 (23)
2023–Paris Saint-Germain (loan) 17 (15)
International career
2011– Malawi 9 (25)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 March 2024

Early life edit

Born on May 19, 1996, in Rumphi District in northern Malawi, Chawinga is the third of five children born to her parents. She is a Tumbuka by tribe. 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 edit

Krokom/Dvärsätts IF, 2014 edit

At age 18, Chawinga 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 edit

Chawinga 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 Linköpings FC.[6] The club finished in first place during the regular season with a 21–2–3 record.[7] Chawinga 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, Chawinga 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 edit

After successful spells in Sweden, Chawinga 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]

Chawinga 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–present edit

After the main sponsor of Jiangsu Suning stopped supporting Chawinga, she moved to Wuhan Jiangda where her sister Temwa plays.[3] Wuhan sent her on successive loan spells to Inter Milan and Paris Saint Germain.

Inter Milan (loan), 2022–23 edit

Chawinga 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– edit

Chawinga joined Paris Saint-Germain on a season long loan deal.[19] Chawinga 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]

Chawinga 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, Chawinga scored the winning goal making it 2–1.[24]

International career edit

Chawinga serves as captain for Malawi.[25]

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

International goals edit

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

Personal life edit

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

Honours edit

Kvarnsvedens IK

Jiangsu Suning

Wuhan Jianghan University

Individual

References edit

  1. ^ "Tabitha Chawinge". Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  2. ^ Pensulo, Charles (6 August 2021). "'A violation': football star recounts having to strip during match to prove she was female" – via The Guardian.
  3. ^ a b c d Ahmadu, Samuel (6 March 2021). "Chawinga: Tabitha joins Malawian sister Temwa at Wuhan". Goal.com. Goal. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Malawi striker Chawinga wins Golden Boot in Sweden women football". Nyasa Times. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  5. ^ "DT". www.dt.se.
  6. ^ Kanjere, Peter (24 April 2015). "Tabitha shines in Swedish football debut". The Nation. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  7. ^ a b "2015 Elitettan". Soccer Way. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  8. ^ Vincelot, Charlotte (13 June 2016). "Tabitha Chawinga, buteuse made in Malawi". Foot d'Elles. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Nedstängd webbadress". www2.svenskfotboll.se.
  10. ^ a b "Nedstängd webbadress". www2.svenskfotboll.se.
  11. ^ "Tabitha Chawinga interview". She Kicks. 16 March 2018.
  12. ^ "Tabitha Chawinga ready for China show". The Daily Times (Malawi). 16 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Tabitha Chawinga record-breaking transfer fee paid by Jiangsu Suning". JWsports1. 22 March 2018.
  14. ^ "Skyttedrottningens pris: 1,5 miljoner kronor". 21 March 2018 – via www.dn.se.
  15. ^ "Tabitha Chawinga opens scoring account". The Daily Times (Malawi). 10 May 2018.
  16. ^ a b Ahmadu, Samuel (10 August 2020). "Malawi striker Tabitha Chawinga retains Chinese Women's Player of the Year award | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Goal. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  17. ^ a b Obayiuwana, Osau (18 October 2023). "PSG's Tabitha Chawinga: 'My parents did not support the idea of me playing football'". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Tabitha Chawinga Joins Inter". Inter Milan. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Tabitha Chawinga". PSG (in French). Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  20. ^ "Tabitha Chawinga: "We can score a lot of goals"". PSG. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  21. ^ "Communiqué du club". PSG (in French). 28 September 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  22. ^ "The Parisians win at Saint-Etienne". PSG. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  23. ^ "Chawinga becomes first Malawian to score in UEFA competition". Malawi 24. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  24. ^ "The Parisians win the first leg against Häcken!".
  25. ^ "Tabitha Chawinga joins Victor Osimhen as top scorer in Serie A". BBC Sport. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  26. ^ Mlanjira, Duncan (20 October 2023). "Tabitha Chawinga shines again as PSG oust Manchester United in UEFA Women's Champions League". Nyasa Times. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  27. ^ "Tabitha Chawinga". SoccerWay. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  28. ^ a b c Ahmadu, Samuel (18 November 2019). "Addo and Chawinga win quadruple as Jiangsu Suning lift Chinese Women's Super Cup title | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  29. ^ a b c Group, Suning Holdings. "Zhang Jindong Praised Suning Women's Football Club for a Quadruple Crown". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  30. ^ "MD3: Jiangsu Suning defeat Incheon Hyundai to finish second | Football | News | Women's Club Championship 2019". the-AFC. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  31. ^ "Här är alla vinnare på Fotbollsgalan 2017". www.aftonbladet.se. 20 November 2017.
  32. ^ "IFFHS Women's CAF Team Decade 2011–2020". The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). 28 January 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  33. ^ "IFFHS All-time Africa Women's Dream Team". The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). 7 June 2021.
  34. ^ "#CWSL | Topscorers of the League". China Women's Football – 中国女足. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  35. ^ "中国足球协会女子足球超级联赛". CFA Women's SUper League (in Chinese). Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  36. ^ "#CWSL Top Scorers". China Women's Football – 中国女足. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  37. ^ a b "Gran Galà del Calcio: tutti i vincitori della serata LIVE". Sky Sport (in Italian). 4 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.

External links edit