Two Sisters, One Historic Run: How the Chawingas carried Malawi to the WAFCON final

Malawi arrived at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations as debutants with little experience at this level.

They left Morocco as finalists and 2027 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

At the centre of that extraordinary journey were two sisters who had spent years building their own football stories far away from home, Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga.

For Malawi, this was not supposed to be a normal tournament. It was the country's first appearance at the WAFCON, yet the Scorchers immediately announced themselves by beating defending champions Nigeria 3-2 in their opening match.

Temwa scored twice that night, including Malawi's first-ever WAFCON goal, before Tabitha added the second.

The sisters never looked like players overwhelmed by the occasion.

Tabitha, the captain, had already become a pioneer for Malawian women's football. She went from playing football with boys on dusty pitches in Rumphi to becoming the first Malawian woman to play professionally in Europe, eventually reaching Lyon.

Temwa followed her path and became a major star in the United States with Kansas City Current.

Their journey to the WAFCON was therefore about more than football.

They had grown up in a country where women's football struggled for recognition and resources. Their parents initially discouraged them from playing, but the sisters continued anyway.

Their persistence eventually turned them into national icons and helped change perceptions of women's football in Malawi.

And in Morocco, they delivered when Malawi needed them most.

After stunning Nigeria, Malawi progressed from the group and then eliminated Ghana 2-1 in the quarter-final, before defeating Algeria 3-1 in the semi-final.

Against Algeria, the sisters produced perhaps their defining performance of the tournament.

Tabitha scored twice.

Temwa scored once.

Every single Malawi goal came from one of the Chawinga sisters as the Scorchers reached their first-ever WAFCON final.

Suddenly, a country making its debut was playing for the continental title.

They ultimately lost 3-0 to Cameroon in Sunday's final, but that hardly changes what Malawi achieved. Cameroon became champions for the first time, while Malawi completed one of the greatest debut campaigns in WAFCON history.

More importantly, reaching the semi-finals had already secured Malawi a place at the 2027 Women's World Cup, another first in the country's history.

The Chawinga sisters did not win the trophy.

But they helped take a debutant nation all the way to the final, into its first World Cup and into a new chapter of its football history.

FKA/AM