Wikipedia

Temwa Chawinga

Temwa Chaŵinga (born September 20, 1998) is a Malawian professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Malawi national team. In her first season in the NWSL, she set the single-season scoring record with 21 goals for the Current. She previously played for Swedish club Kvarnsvedens IK and Chinese club Wuhan Jianghan University.

Temwa Chaŵinga
Chawinga with the Kansas City Current in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth (1998-09-20) September 20, 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Malawi
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Forward[1]
Team information
Current team
 Kansas City Current
Number 6
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017 Blantyre Zero 3 (29)
2017–2019 Kvarnsvedens IK 57 (55)
2020–2023 Wuhan Jianghan 84 (83)
2024– Kansas City Current 25 (20)
International career‡
2016– Malawi 15+ (25+)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2023

Early life

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Chaŵinga was born on September 20, 1998, in Rumphi district, Northern Region, Malawi. She is the youngest of five children. She is of Tumbuka ethnicity and her name Temwa means "love" in Tumbuka language.[2] Her older sister, Tabitha Chawinga, is also a professional footballer.[3]

Club career

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Kvarnsvedens IK, 2017–2019

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Chaŵinga signed with Kvarnsvedens IK in 2017.[4]

Wuhan Jianghan University FC, 2020–2023

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In 2020, Chaŵinga signed a two-year contract with an option for an additional year at Wuhan Jianghan University F.C.. In 2023, she scored a total of 63 goals for the club across all competitions, making her the world's top goalscorer for the year, male or female.[5]

Kansas City Current, 2024–

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On January 3, 2024, Chaŵinga signed a two-year contract with the Kansas City Current.[4] She scored her first goal for the Current in a 4–2 win over Angel City FC on March 30, becoming the first Malawian goalscorer in NWSL history.[6] She quickly impressed with four goals in her first five games and was named to the NWSL Team of the Month for March/April.[7][8] She scored six goals in four games in the month of June, leading her to be named NWSL Player of the Month.[9] She overtook the Orlando Pride's Barbra Banda for the Golden Boot lead with a brace against the Houston Dash on June 28, helping the Current win their then-record 17th undefeated regular-season game in a row.[10]

Chawinga scored in a league-record eight regular-season games in a row from June 9 to September 7. She was again named NWSL Player of the Month with four goals in five games in September.[11][12] She scored her 19th goal of the season in a 1–0 win over Bay FC on October 12, breaking Sam Kerr's single-season record of 18 goals in 2019.[13] With her 20th goal against the San Diego Wave, she became the first NWSL player to score against all 13 other teams in one season.[14] On October 26, she scored the only two goals in the final of the 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup against NJ/NY Gotham FC.[15] Chawinga became the first player in NWSL history to score 20 goals in a single season and was awarded the 2024 NWSL Golden Boot.[16] She was voted NWSL Most Valuable Player in November 2024.[17]

Personal life

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Chaŵinga's older sister Tabitha is also a Malawian international footballer.[2]

Career statistics

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International goals

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Scores and results list Malawi's goal tally first

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 30 December 2016 Nankhaka Stadium, Lilongwe, Malawi, Malawi   Zambia 1–1 2–3 Friendly
2 15 September 2017 Barbourfields Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe   Madagascar 3–0 6–3 2017 COSAFA Women's Championship
3 4–0
4 17 September 2017 Luveve Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe   Zimbabwe 1–2 3–3
5 4 April 2019 Kamuzu Stadium, Blantyre, Malawi   Mozambique 2–0 11–1 2020 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
6 4–0
7 5–0
8 7–0
9 10–0
10 9 April 2019 Estádio do Zimpeto, Maputo, Mozambique   Mozambique 1–0 3–0
11 7 November 2020 Wolfson Stadium, Ibhayi, South Africa   Lesotho 3–0 9–0 2020 COSAFA Women's Championship
12 9 November 2020 Wolfson Stadium, Ibhayi, South Africa   Zambia 1–0 1–0
13 12 November 2020 Wolfson Stadium, Ibhayi, South Africa   South Africa 1–1 2–6
14 25 September 2023 Lucas Moripe Stadium, Pretoria   Seychelles 12–0 17–0 Friendly[18]
15 13–0
16 14–0
17 4 October 2023 Lucas Moripe Stadium, Pretoria   South Africa 2–1 4–3 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship
18 3–1
19 4–1
20 7 October 2023 Lucas Moripe Stadium, Pretoria   Eswatini 5–0 8–0
21 6–0
22 7–0
23 8–0
24 13 October 2023 Lucas Moripe Stadium, Pretoria   Mozambique 1–1 2–1
25 2–1

Honours

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Kansas City Current

Wuhan Jianghan University

Individual

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References

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  1. ^ Temwa Chawinga at Soccerway
  2. ^ a b Ahmadu, Samuel (March 6, 2021). "Chawinga: Tabitha joins Malawian sister Temwa at Wuhan". Goal.com. Goal. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  3. ^ "Idrottonline". www.rf.se (in Swedish). Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Kansas City Current sign Malawi international forward - Kansas City Current". www.kansascitycurrent.com. January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  5. ^ Burhan, Asif. "Malawi's Temwa Chawinga Ends 2023 As The World's Leading Goalscorer". Forbes. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  6. ^ Hartley, Maddie (March 30, 2024). "KC Current stays unbeaten as Temwa Chawinga makes history in victory over Angel City". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  7. ^ Sperry, Daniel (April 20, 2024). "KC Current blasts Bay FC at CPKC Stadium. Temwa Chawinga & Bia provided the fireworks". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  8. ^ "NWSL Announces March/April Best XI of the Month, Presented by Amazon Prime" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. May 7, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  9. ^ "Current's Temwa Chawinga named NWSL Player of the Month, presented by EA Sports" (Press release). Kansas City Current. July 11, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  10. ^ Sperry, Daniel (June 28, 2024). "Temwa Chawinga shot a ball into the river. Then she set the KC Current goals record". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  11. ^ Sperry, Daniel (September 1, 2024). "Temwa Chawinga scores again, but KC Current falls to NC Courage on late NWSL goal". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  12. ^ "Kansas City Current Forward Temwa Chawinga Named September Player of the Month, presented By EA SPORTS". National Women's Soccer League. October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  13. ^ Munson, Bella (October 13, 2024). "Temwa Chawinga sets new single-season scoring record". The Equalizer. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  14. ^ "NWSL Weekend Sees Chawinga Score 20th Goal". Just Women's Sports. October 21, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  15. ^ "Temwa Chawinga lifts Kansas City over Gotham to win inaugural Summer Cup". The Equalizer. October 26, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  16. ^ a b NWSL (November 4, 2024). "Kansas City Current Forward Temwa Chawinga Claims 2024 NWSL Golden Boot | National Women's Soccer League Official Site". NWSL. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  17. ^ "Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga voted NWSL MVP Chawinga becomes first player in franchise history to earn MVP following historic 2024 season". kansascitycurrent.com. November 22, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  18. ^ "Scorchers thrash Seychelles by record 17-0". Malawi24. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  19. ^ "Kansas City Current sign a decorated Malawian international player". Yahoo Sports. January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  20. ^ "KC Current's Chawinga named NWSL MVP". ESPN.com. November 22, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  21. ^ NWSL (November 18, 2024). "NWSL Announces Winners of 2024 NWSL Best XI Awards, presented by Amazon Prime | NWSL Announces Winners of 2024 NWSL Best XI Awards, presented by Amazon Prime | National Women's Soccer League Official Site". NWSL. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
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