An opinion poll by French Newspaper L’Equipe has put Malawian women’s football poster girl Tabitha Chawinga among the top contenders for the 2024 Ballon d’Or award.
As of Tuesday, Tabitha was second with 11.9 percent of the votes whereas Aitana Bonmati (Spain, Barcelona) was leading with 22 percent.
However, the L’Equipe opinion poll results will not be used to determine the winner of the 2024 Ballon d’Or award at a ceremony scheduled for October 28 in Paris, France.
This is because the winner of the Ballon d’Or will be voted by 50 captains, national team coaches and sports reporters that are in the top 50 countries on Fifa world rankings.
“The Ballon d’ Or in 2024 will be voted on by a panel of journalists, and from 2022, the people chosen to vote are limited to the top 100 countries in the Fifa rankings for the men’s game and the top 50 nations in the women’s.
“Each of these journalists will be making their top five picks from a short list; with each ranking they assign earning a different points value,” Fifa details read.
The talented female footballer made history as the first Malawian to be nominated for the prestigious Ballon d’ Or award after her outstanding performance last season.
Chawinga, who recently joined Olympique Lyonnais Feminine, is competing against fellow top players in the world for the accolade.
However, Chawinga and Barbara Banda of Orlando Pride are the only two Africans nominated for the prestigious award.
Other nominees are Lucy Bronze (England, Manchester City), Grave Geroyo (France, PSG), Lauren James (England, Chelsea) and Ada Hegerberg (Norway, Lyon).
Her sister Temwa Chawinga, who is playing for US club Kansas City Current, also drummed up support for Tabitha.
“The TC6 (Temwa Chawinga 6) you see today is the true effort and support from my beloved sister Tabitha Chawinga. Join me in voting for my sister to win the Fan vote Ballon d Or,” Temwa wrote on Facebook page.
Tabitha had an incredible season while on loan at Paris Saint Germain in France last year, when she scored 29 goals and made 14 assists in 38 matches.
She won the 2023 Player of the Season award.
On top of that, she won the Golden Boot award after scoring 19 goals.
In 2022, she made history as the first African to win the Golden Boot award after scoring 23 goals in 21 matches for Italian side Inter Milan Women.
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