China-based women’s football stars Tabitha Chawinga and her sister Temwa will not be available for Cosafa Women’s Championship which starts on September 15.
The development is a blow to the Scorchers as the two forwards inspired Malawi to reach the semi-finals in last year’s competition.
Tabitha, who is the Malawi women’s football national team captain, confirmed on Wednesday that she and her younger sister will not make it to the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) tournament as their club Wuhan Jiangda will need them for the Chinese Women’s Super League second round kick off next month.
She said the situation has been complicated by China’s tightened Covid-19 preventive measures that require one to isolate for almost a month.
“We would have loved to be with the national team, but it will be extremely hard for our club to let us go for national duties because the next round of our league kicks off within the same month as the Cosafa event,” said Tabitha.
“Moreover, with the tightened Covid-19 preventive measures in China, we will not be able to feature for our club in the next round if we go to Cosafa because by the time the month-long isolation period ends, the league would have already concluded.”
During the last Cosafa event, the two scored 10 of the team’s 12 goals to help the Scorchers reach the semi-finals for the first time in a decade. Zainab Kapanda and Chimwemwe Madise scored the other goals.
When Tabitha and Temwa were absent during the 2019 edition, Malawi relied on the services of experienced Skippers FC striker Linda Kasenda, who notched eight of the team’s 15 goals when they demolished Comoros Island 13-0 and Madagascar 2-0.
The 33-year-old Kasenda, who is the leading scorer in the FAM Women’s League in the Central Region with 32 goals, will also not be with the national team as she retired from international football last year.
The development has left the Scorchers with a tall order to identify strikers who can fit in.
But if the performance of strikers in the FAM Women’s Regional Leagues are anything to go by, then the Scorchers will hardly struggle in South Africa as there are potential suitors.
Blantyre Zero’s Mary Chavinda is leading the scorers chart in the South with 38 goals in 12 games.
Her team-mates Vanessa Chikupira and Zainab Kapanda are second and third leading scorers with 28 and 27 goals, respectively.
Rising star Harriet Kawanga, who has scored 21 goals for Blantyre Hotspur, is another possible alternative.
As for Kapanda, she is not only a lethal striker, but also a fantastic dribbler whose pace makes up for her diminutive stature.
In the Centre, the likes of DD Sunshine’s Sabina Thom, who has 24 goals, can be another option alongside Ascent Academy’s Leticia Chinyamula (21 goals) and Skippers’ Fazila Chiyembekezo (17 goals).
Moyale Barracks Ladies’ forward Chipo Ngwenya is scoring for fun in the North League, where she is top scorer with 39 goals. The same can be said about CY Sisters’ Chikondi Gondwe and Vitumbiko Mkandawire, who have 30 and 25 goals, respectively.
Experienced strikers such as Asimenye Simwaka (Topik Sisters), Salaiva January (Ntopwa Super Queens) and Madyina Ngulube (DD Sunshine), have height and physique that help them to have an edge over opposition defenders.
But former national team assistant coach Andrew Chikhosi said while these strikers are capable, they need intensive training to fit in the shoes of the Chawinga sisters.
“To say the truth, the absence of Tabitha and Temwa will be heavily felt at the Cosafa tourney,” he said.
Chikhosi said in the absence of the two, the Scorchers should also focus on tightening defence.
National Women’s Football Association chairperson Suzgo Ngwira said they are hopeful that the new coach will have strikers that can replace the two.
“The new technical panel will have a big task to get on board attackers or strikers that can give us goals at Cosafa.
“It is my belief that the Chawinga sisters’ absence will be a great opportunity for others to step up and prove their worth in the national team,” she said.
