Meet Temwa Chawinga, the Malawian striker breaking records
"Parents should accept that girls can play soccer."
Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
When Temwa Chawinga signed for Kansas City Current at the start of the year, she made history as the first Malawian player to join the National Women’s Super League. Since then, the forward has been rewriting the record books with her historic achievements.
“I feel special to be the first Malawian to play in the NWSL. I'm looking forward to some more players from Malawi coming here.”
Arriving as the 2023 world’s leading goalscorer with 63 goals, it was only a matter of time until Chawinga opened a superb scoring tally in the US. And indeed, the Malawian striker sits atop of the Golden Boot race half way through the season, with her first goal coming only three games in, during a 4-2 home victory over Angel City.
The secret breakfast? “I like some eggs and maybe some fruits. But it's not because of the food, it's because of hard work and my teammates,” Temwa Chawinga told SHE Scores Bangers. “It is my duty to score the goals because I cannot leave it for the goalkeeper or defender to do it. I’m a striker and that’s my job.”
Not only does the hot Kansas City climate provide a familiar feel for Chawinga, allowing her to hit the ground running, but her teammates’ efforts to ensure a smooth transition have been monumental.
“It's not been very difficult for me to settle in because of the way people have treated me. We have a good coach, good players, and nice staff that made it easy to settle in the league,” Chawinga says. “I’m very grateful. They have helped a lot in training and I am able to be who I am.”
Chawinga is not just about scoring goals and recording high-speed numbers. In addition to a 12-goal tally, she has produced six assists across 16 games so far. Still, Chawinga is impressing with far more than that.
Her intelligent hold-up play, unmatched work rate, physical strength, unselfishness, and ability to leave it on the pitch are some of the many golden qualities that have helped the Malawian player thrive at this level.
Yet to every question surrounding her diverse ability to be great at many things, Chawinga is full of humility crediting her teammates. Being a humble character is another feature to add to her long list of assets.
“All the good goals I’ve scored are not just because of myself, it's the whole team.”
Proud of the attention she is bringing to Malawian women’s football, Chawinga hopes her historic achievements “open the door” for many young girls in Africa. She views her goalscoring highlight reels as an incentive for scouts in Europe and the NWSL to turn their heads to players from Southern Africa.
“I hope when clubs see me performing, they say, ‘she is from Malawi, maybe we need to look at players from there,’ and we start to see more names go to Europe.”
Becoming a professional soccer player was not something Chawinga, or her sister, current Lyon player, Tabitha, ever thought was possible. The two stars are the only current Malawian players, men or women, playing professionally outside of Africa, but it was far from easy for them to get here.
“When we [Tabitha & I ] started playing…my mom told us not to play and that soccer was not for girls,” Chawinga recalls.
“The way my mom was telling us not to play soccer, I thought that my career was done and I couldn’t go anywhere else. I would just be stuck in Malawi”
As a youngster, Temwa’s days consisted of “going to school, going to work, and washing plates” for months, leaving little time for soccer. “My mum stopped Tabitha from playing, but she continued and I followed in her footsteps. When she would go out to play, I’d go with her. My mum just had to accept that.” Chawinga tells SHE Scores Bangers.
Only able to play with the boys in their village, the Chawinga sisters would travel over 400 kilometers from their home in the Rumphi district to Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi, to play with a girls team. National team scouts would do most of their work in Lilongwe, and it was the try-out destination. Like many, NT representatives were taken aback by the sheer brilliance displayed by the Chawingas.
“They thought it was not possible for a family to have two good players,” laughs Chawinga. “We were so scared to play around the people that make up the national team. We then started believing in ourselves.”
Iconically, the Chawinga sisters would receive national team call-ups together in 2011, go on to share the pitch in Sweden playing for Kvarnsvedens IK, and later, become opponents in China.
In fact, when Temwa landed in Sweden, all she could think of was the reality of her name being featured in a league that nurtured the historical era of Marta. It was Tabitha who told her sister all about the Brazilian’s records in the Damallsvenskan. Tabitha led, Temwa followed, and she is forever grateful to have had her sister along the way.
“If I took the decision of what my parents said, I wouldn’t be playing soccer. But I left behind what they had to say and just continued playing, and now I’m here,” Chawinga says. “I’m happy to know my mum is very happy to see the way my sister and I are performing, and what we are doing outside of Malawi.”
Yet, in order to encourage more girls to get involved in sports in Malawi, Chawinga recognizes the importance of a change in mindset.
“Parents should accept girls can also play soccer. It’s not just for boys.”
“Back home, a lot of people think that soccer is only for boys,” Chawinga says. “In Malawi, we need to start treating boys and girls the same way. Here in the USA, we see lots of boys and girls in the stadium, and that can be the same in Africa.
“Parents should allow their children to play soccer, explore themselves, and play in another country. Back home, we don’t give our children the chance to choose between school and soccer. I want to say to parents, let your children have the choice to play.”
Whilst the majority of Chawinga’s advice was directed to parents urging them to challenge societal values on girls playing soccer, she highlights two key skills that have made her successful despite the noise.
“Working hard and listening to coaches,”
Without her hard work, Chawinga does not think she would’ve left Malawi. And without listening to her coaching, the player leading the Golden Boot race wouldn’t have been able to perform this well with the Current so far.
“If we change mindsets… a lot of players will start to come out from Africa and go to other countries, like me and my sister.” Chawinga passionately expresses.
Barba Banda, Rachel Kundanji, Asisat Oshoala, and Temwa Chawinga’s arrivals to the NWSL have sparked more critical conversations about talent across Africa and the efforts required to showcase it.
These one-of-a-kind players, each with a unique journey to the top of the game, serve as role models for many. Despite their different paths, they all faced and overcame the obstacle of being pushed away from playing a sport due to the climate of mindsets that said so.
Today, Temwa Chawinga is changing how women’s football is received in Malawi with her work on the pitch, one touch after another.