Tabitha Chawinga

Tabitha Chawinga (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 May 19, 1996, in Rumphi District in northern Malawi, Chawinga is the third of five children born to her parents. She is a Tumbuka by tribe. 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 Chawinga is also a professional footballer.

Krokom/Dvärsätts IF, 2014
At age 18, Chawinga played for Swedish third-division club Krokom/Dvärsätts IF, 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.

Kvarnsvedens IK, 2015–2017
Chawinga 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 Linköpings FC. The club finished in first place during the regular season with a record. Chawinga was the league's top scorer with 43 goals – 14 more than the next highest scorer. The club's first place finish secured them promotion to the Damallsvenskan for the 2016 season.

During the 2016 season, Chawinga 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, Chawinga 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.

Chawinga 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. She retained the award in 2019–20, scoring 12 league goals (38 in all competitions) and helping Jiangsu to a historic quadruple.

Wuhan Jiangda 2021–present
After the main sponsor of Jiangsu Suning stopped supporting Chawinga, she moved to Wuhan Jiangda where her sister Temwa plays. Wuhan sent her on successive loan spells to Inter Milan and Paris Saint Germain.

Inter Milan (loan), 2022–23
Chawinga signed a one-year loan deal with Inter Milan for the 2022–23 season. 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.

Paris Saint-Germain (loan), 2023–
Chawinga joined Paris Saint-Germain on a season long loan deal. Chawinga 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.

Chawinga 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, Chawinga scored the winning goal making it 2–1.

International career
Chawinga serves as captain for Malawi.

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

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

Honours
Kvarnsvedens IK
 * Elitettan winner: 2015

Jiangsu Suning
 * Chinese Women's Super League: 2019
 * Chinese National Women's Football Championship: 2019
 * Chinese Women's FA Cup: 2019
 * Chinese Women's Super Cup : 2019
 * AFC Women's Club Championship runner-up: 2019

Wuhan Jianghan University
 * Chinese Women's Super League: 2021

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

Individual
 * Elitettan top scorer: 2015
 * Damallsvenskan top scorer: 2017
 * Sweden Forward of the Year: 2017
 * 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 Female Footballer of the Year: 2022–23
 * Serie A Women's Team of the Year: 2022–23
 * UNFP Division 1 Féminine Player of the Year: 2023–24
 * Trophées FFF D1 Féminine Best Player: 2023–24
 * UEFA Women's Champions League Team of the Season: 2023–24
 * UNFP Division 1 Féminine Team of the Year: 2023–24
 * Trophées FFF D1 Féminine Team of the Season: 2023–24
 * Division 1 Féminine Player of the Month: February 2024, March 2024