A sister who build the path and a sister who followed her. The story of Temwa and Tabitha Chawinga

WAFCON 2026 is over, with Cameroon lifting the trophy. But plenty of fans will also remember Malawi’s remarkable run, as the tournament debutants made it all the way to the final. And much of that success came down to two players: sisters Temwa and Tabitha Chawinga. What is their story?

Malawi certainly were not among the favourites before the tournament began. They had qualified for WAFCON for the first time in their history and sat as low as 153rd in the FIFA rankings. A few weeks later, they were playing in the final and celebrating their first-ever qualification for the World Cup. And if we were to put two faces to that success, we would not have to look far. They share the same surname.

Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga grew up in the town of Rumphi in northern Malawi, in a family of five daughters. At first, football was not something their parents saw as a possible future. The older sister, Tabitha, in particular faced their resistance. Her parents wanted her to focus on school, while she had been playing football with boys since childhood. Girls’ teams simply did not exist.

It was Tabitha who later brought her younger sister Temwa into football as well. And it would not be the last time she helped open a door for her.

From Damallsvenskan to the world

Tabitha was the first to make the move to Europe. In 2014, she went on trial with Swedish side Krokom/Dvärsätts IF and became the first Malawian female footballer to sign for a European club. She later joined Kvarnsvedens IK, where she scored 43 goals in the second tier and helped the club win promotion to Damallsvenskan, Sweden’s top women’s division.

When she later left for China, Kvarnsvedens had a problem. They needed to replace their leading goalscorer. Tabitha had a simple suggestion. She had the same surname.

According to Tabitha’s later account, the club initially doubted that Malawi could possibly have another player of similar quality. But she insisted that Temwa be given a trial. It worked. The younger Chawinga eventually scored 35 league goals in a single season in Sweden.

For a while, their careers developed almost in parallel. Sweden was followed by China, where both became prolific goalscorers. Eventually, however, their paths began to diverge.

After spells with Inter and PSG, Tabitha made her way to OL Lyonnes. In Italy, she became the first African player to finish as Serie A’s top scorer. Temwa, meanwhile, headed to the United States.

When the younger sister stepped out of the shadow

In her first season with Kansas City Current, Temwa scored 20 goals, setting a new NWSL regular-season record. She won both the Golden Boot and the MVP award. A year later, she claimed both honours again, becoming the first player in league history to be named MVP in consecutive seasons.

What makes her journey particularly interesting is how much of her career had been shaped by the presence of her older sister. When their paths first separated, Temwa later admitted that it was not easy. But Tabitha explained to her that they could not play together forever. Her younger sister had to build a path of her own.

At club level, she did exactly that. On the international stage, however, their paths would come together again.

Two sisters, one historic run

At WAFCON 2026, Malawi unexpectedly defeated Nigeria, Ghana and Algeria on their way to the final, where their run was eventually ended by Cameroon. Temwa finished the tournament with five goals as its top scorer and, more importantly, helped a country that had never previously even qualified for WAFCON secure a historic place at the 2027 World Cup.

For Tabitha, there is another symbolic layer to that achievement. In 2023, she spoke about how difficult it was to watch the World Cup only on television. But she believed that one day she would get there with Malawi.

Four years later, she will be there. And just as she was at the very beginning of her football journey, the younger sister she once took along to play football will be by her side.