Sports and Games

Warm welcome for Temwa Chawinga

Warm welcome for Temwa Chawinga

Malawi women’s football star Temwa Chawinga received a rapturous reception on Wednesday following her outstanding performance in her debut season in the National Women’s Super League (NWSL) in the United States (US).

Upon arrival at Kamuzu International Airport (Kia) in Lilongwe on Wednesday, the Kansas City Current striker was greeted with hugs and kisses from her parents and some fans.

As if that was not enough, Temwa was hosted to a luncheon at Bingu International Convention Centre.

Addressing journalists, Temwa appealed to government and Football Association of Malawi (Fam) to provide more resources towards women’s football.

“We have a lot of talented players in the country. We need to provide a platform for them to showcase their skills by participating in international competitions,” Temwa said.

In her remarks, National Women’s Football Association Chairperson Adella Migogo said Temwa had set the pace.

“Temwa has done us proud. We are very excited with her exploits,” Migogo said.

Ministry of Youth and Sports Public Relations Officer Macmillan Mwale hailed Temwa for her exploits.

Temwa smashed several records in the US, having won the golden boot award with 20 goals— becoming the first female player to achieve that feat in a single regular season.

In addition, she holds the record for most goal contributions—a total of 20 goals and six assists in 2024.

Temwa was voted as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in her debut season. She also made history, having scored against 13 active teams in the NWSL. Temwa, alongside her elder sister Tabitha, has been nominated for the 2024 Caf Women’s Footballer of the Year award. The 26-year- old striker has for the past three seasons sets new records for both clubs and country in all competitions.

Last year, Temwa was the overall top goal scorer in the world, having netted 63 goals for country and club. She won three golden boot awards while playing for Wuhan Jianghan in China last year.

“We have just given them the goal. We conceded a silly goal but we came hard in the second half. We wanted a win but a point is something that we need to thank the boys for,” Chatama.

His counterpart Correla said his boys started playing a defensive game, which cost them maximum points.

“We tried to maintain the lead and the boys started defending, giving room to Malawi to score,” he said.

Meanwhile, Angola lead group B with three points after beating Lesotho 2-1 at the same venue.