In the aftermath of the 2023 COSAFA Women’s Championship group stage, Malawian forward Temwa Chawinga has scored seven goals in two games.
The Scorcher was a force to be reckoned with in Group A, registering a hat-trick against South Africa before putting four past Eswatini.
Chawinga’s attacking exploits saw Malawi top the group, ahead of Banyanya Banyanya by nine points. The Scorchers are the only side to win all their games. They are also the highest-scoring team at this edition, with 15 goals.
The competition’s semifinals will see defending champion Zambia lock horns with the Mighty Warriors of Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, last year’s finalists, Malawi, will have to get to grips with Mozambique for another shot at the prize.
Hence, Malawi will be counting on their prolific forward, Chawinga, to come up with the goods in the knockout stage.
Having already scored seven goals at this stage of the competition, not many would write off Chawinga’s chances of breaking the record for the most goals in a single edition.
Who holds the record?
That record belongs to Banyanya Banyanya’s Noko Matlou, who made history after netting 12 goals in five matches during the 2008 COSAFA Women’s Championship.
A hat-trick hero in the final against Angola, Matlou guided South Africa to the title and was eventually named the African Women’s Footballer of the Year.
Several stars have attempted to smash the record since, with Rutendo Makore and Rachael Nachula both netting 10 goals in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
The most recent attempt to break that record was that of Copper Queens’ talisman, Barbra Banda. She found the back of the net on 10 occasions last year.
Her impressive performance helped crown Zambia as the COSAFA Women’s Champions for the first time ever.
Now Malawi’s Chawinga has the record in sight as she prepares to lead the Scorchers to their maiden COSAFA title.
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That assignment starts with a last-four encounter against Mozambique on Friday.
They face a side that gave the defending champions a run for their money in their opener.
Her elder sister, Tabitha Chawinga, recently became the first Malawian to score in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Tabitha scored during Paris Saint-Germain’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United to set the record.
