Tabitha Chawinga

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 22 May 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. 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." Her sister, Temwa, is also a professional footballer.

Club career Krokom/Dvärsätts IF, 2014 At age 18, Chaŵinga played for Swedish third-division club , where she earned the league's golden boot after scoring 39 goals in 18 games. She was the first women's footballer from Malawi to play for a European club.

DD Sunshine Her club DD Sunshine was in trouble after its founder and Chawinga's mentor David Dube became ill after a stroke in 2014. Tabitha stepped forward becoming a sponsor eventually supporting two women's teams and a young man's team. She began contributing financially when the stroke happened becoming the club's sponsor in 2020.

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. The club finished in first place during the regular season with a record. Chaŵinga was the league's top scorer with 43 goals – 14 more than the next highest scorer.

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

In 2017, she finished as the league's top scorer with 26 goals, 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 and eventually signed for Chinese side Jiangsu Suning, reportedly for a record-breaking transfer fee in Swedish women's football. On 6 May 2018, she scored the winning goal in her full-length debut away to Shanghai.

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.

Wuhan Jiangda 2021–2024 After the main sponsor of Jiangsu Suning stopped supporting Chaŵinga, she moved to Wuhan Jiangda where her sister Temwa played. 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. Chaŵinga reunited with manager Gérard Prêcheur, under whom she had worked during the 2018–19 CWSL season with Jiangsu Suning. However, he left the position in September 2023.

Chaŵinga scored her first goal for PSG in a 1–0 victory away at Saint-Etienne. 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.

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.

International career Chaŵinga serves as captain for Malawi.

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

In February 2025 she returned from France to join other Malawian players picked to play Zambia. She was one of seven players based abroad who were included in Lovemore Fazili's Malawi squad. Sabinah Thom and Chimwemwe Madise also made the team and they were contracted to play in the Democratic Republic of Congo while Rose Kabzere also returned from France. Bernadette Mkandawire was with Vanessa Chikupira in Zambia and Temwa Chawinga joined them from America.

Personal life Chaŵinga's sister Temwa is also a Malawian international footballer

Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals

2009–10

2010–11

2011–12

2012–13

2013–14

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2022–23

2023–24

2024–25

2025–26

|Total 260!!323!!13!!16!!3!!0!!30!!13!!306!!352

International goals No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 13 September 2017 Barbourfields Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 1–0 3–6 2017 COSAFA Women's Championship 2. 2–3 3. 3–5 4. 15 September 2017 1–0 6–3 5. 2–0 6. 5–3 7. 6–3 8. 17 September 2017 Luveve Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 2–3 3–3 9. 3–3 10. 4 April 2019 Kamuzu Stadium, Blantyre, Malawi 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 2–0 3–0 14. 28 August 2019 Kamuzu Stadium, Blantyre, Malawi 2–1 3–2 15. 3–1 16. 7 November 2020 Wolfson Stadium, Ibhayi, South Africa 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 2–6 2–6 23. 5 September 2022 NMU Stadium, Gqeberha, South Africa 3–0 6–0 2022 COSAFA Women's Championship 24. 4–0 25. 5–0 26. 19 June 2025 Kenitra Municipal Stadium, Kenitra, Morocco 1–0 2–4 Friendly 27. 28 July 2026 Al Medina Stadium, Rabat, Morocco 2–0 3–2 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations 28. 5 August 2026 1–2 1–2 29. 12 August 2026 Rabat Olympic Stadium, Rabat, Morocco 1–0 3–1 30. 3–1

Honours Kvarnsvedens IK Elitettan winner: 2015 Chinese National Women's Football Championship: 2019

Wuhan Jianghan University Chinese Women's Super League: 2021

Paris Saint-Germain Coupe de France: 2023–24 Lyon

Division 1 Féminine: 2024–25

Individual Elitettan top scorer: 2015 IFFHS CAF Women's Team of the Decade 2011–2020 IFFHS All-time Africa Women's Dream Team: 2021 Chinese Women's Super League top scorer: 2018, 2019, 2021 Chinese Women's Super League Player of the Year: 2018, 2019 Serie A Best Forward: 2022–23 Serie A Women's Team of the Year: 2022–23 LFFP Première Ligue best player: 2023–24 UEFA Women's Champions League Team of the Season: 2023–24 UNFP Première Ligue team of the year: 2023–24, 2024–25 March 2024 CAF Team of the Year Women's XI: 2023, 2024