Treble Queen
Over and done with. China-based Malawi women’s football icon Tabitha Chawinga on Sunday won her third Golden Boot Award of the season even without getting on the score-sheet.
Her team Jiangsu Suning, which won the 2019 league title with two games to spare a fortnight ago, wound up the season with a one-all draw against Henan on Sunday.
Tabitha retained the golden boot with 13 goals, five ahead of her joint runners-up Tang Jiali and Miao Siwen, who also did not score in their last match.
The Malawi women’s national football team captain also won the Golden Boot Award in the League Cup and Women’s Championship Cup with 15 and nine goals, respectively.
Such is the prolific forward’s luxury that she not only has a chance to add one more top scorer award, but could also help Jiangsu Suning sweep all silverware as they are in the final of the last cup.
No wonder, excitement was her prevalent emotion yesterday.
“I don’t know what to say other than to thank God for His blessings.
“Words alone are not enough to describe how I feel. Special mention goes to my teammates and the technical team because without them, I wouldn’t achieve all this.
“To my family and my country, I say thank you for your support,” she said.
Tabitha also said although there is still interest from big teams such as Barcelona in Spain and Marseille in France, she would love to see out her contract at JingsuSuning.
“It’s always good to face other challenges, and when you have such big teams knocking on your door, it’s flattering, but for now I am happy at Jiangsu Suning,” she said.
Her club’s coach Joss was recently quoted by goal.com as having described Tabitha as their “most precious asset and one of the best players in the world”.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu said the local football governing body is happy that Tabitha continues to hoist Malawi’s flag high and that her performances surpass expectations.
“She has proved to be our star performer and is our beacon of hope that Malawi’s women’s football has a bright future. We are proud of her achievements.
Last season, which was her debut in China, Tabitha scooped four awards, including Footballer of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year despite her team finishing second in the league.
In the last two years, she made the top 10 list for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) African Women’s Footballer of the Year Award.
