For the second year in a row, Kansas City Current forward and Malawi’s Scorchers vice-captain Temwa Chawinga has claimed the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Golden Boot award.
Chawinga finished as the league’s top scorer during the regular season and will take home $5,000 as the Golden Boot winner.
She ended the season with 15 goals and three assists across 23 appearances, outscoring her closest contender, a striker from Gotham Club, by two goals and two assists. Last year she scored 20 goals in 25 games.
Chawinga became the second player in league history to win the award multiple times and is closing in on the record set by Sam Kerr, who won it for three consecutive seasons from 2017 to 2019.
If Chawinga wins again in the 2026 season, she will equal Kerr’s record, with the added benefit of a larger monetary prize, as the Golden Boot award will be adjusted to $10,000.
Chawinga grateful to God
Reacting after achieving the feat, the 27-year-old said, “I should thank my teammates for helping me achieve this record. It was not possible minus God.”
Despite missing the final day due to a hip injury, Chawinga maintained her top spot, and her team finished first in the regular season to win the 2025 shield.
The Kansas City Current closed out a record-breaking season with a 2-1 win over the San Diego Wave on Sunday.
San Diego took the lead in the eighth minute, but Kansas City came from behind with goals in the 54th and 75th minutes to seal the victory.
Kansas City will host eighth-seed Gotham FC in the quarterfinals next weekend as they aim to claim the championship and complete a domestic double this season.
For Chawinga, her performances have made her one of the favorites for the 2025 CAF Women’s Player of the Year award. She has been nominated alongside her elder sister Tabitha Chawinga, Zambia’s duo of Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji, Nigeria’s duo of Esther Okoronkwo and Rasheedat Ajibade, Ghana’s Portia Boakye, Senegal’s Mama Diop, as well as Morocco’s Ghizlane Chebbak and Sanaa Mssoudy.
READ ALSO: Mutandwa Continues to Impress with Sixth Goal as SV Ried Fall to RB Salzburg
