Who are the Chawinga sisters leading Malawi’s bid for Wafcon glory?Image source, Backpage PixImage caption, Sisters Tabitha (left) and Temwa Chawinga have taken outsiders Malawi to the brink of a first ever continental titleByRob StevensBBC Sport AfricaPublished31 minutes agoMalawi have been the surprise package of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon), but the source of the goals which have fired the tournament debutants into Sunday’s final against Cameroon (19:00 GMT) has been less of a shock.Sisters Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga are the undoubted stars of the show, scoring nine of Malawi’s 12 goals – with Temwa leading the golden boot race with fives strikes alongside Zambia’s Barbra Banda.And while the Scorchers are the lowest-ranked side at the finals in Morocco, at 153rd in the world, the siblings have already won silverware for some of football’s biggest clubs.Who is Tabitha Chawinga?Born on 22 May 1996 in the northern district of Rumphi, Tabitha is the older sister.The 30-year-old began playing football as a child with boys in her village, with a ball made out of plastic or paper.”Growing up, I never saw myself as different from boys,” she told the BBC. “Whatever they did I believed I could.”However, her mother did not approve.”My mum beat me because she was embarrassed,” Chawinga told Africa Daily in 2023.
“People would provoke my mum: ‘Look at your daughter – maybe she will not be married in the future. Your daughter, she doesn’t want to go to school.’
“Even my friends reported: ‘No women can play football in this world’.”
Tabitha persisted and her journey to international stardom began when she moved to join DD Sunshine in the capital Lilongwe.
Tabitha draws strongly on her Christian faith, paying tribute to God during many of her media engagements.
