Malawi National Women’s Football Team star Temwa Chawinga arrived in Malawi from the US on holiday on Wednesday to undertake a number of activities, including charity.
But the Kansas City Current prolific forward appealed to the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) and the Malawi Government to provide adequate support to develop the women’s football in the country.
She said apart from regional Cosafa tournaments, Malawi should go for big competitions such as Afcon, Olympics and World Cup qualifiers to exposure players.
Temwa also acknowledged the warm and tenderness that was bestowed to her on arrival where Umodzi Park Holdings Limited which runs the President Hotel, Bingu Internation Convention Centre, President Villas and Malawi Square accorded her a heroe’s welcome.
“I have to thank Malawians for the warm welcome. I feel I am honoured. But I have some grievances. As women, we don’t get the same support in terms of resources as men. I had wanted to come and play, but I didn’t because I was protesting that we don’t take part in Fifa recognised tournaments.
“Malawi should learn from how Zambia is doing. Their women’s team is well-supported and plays in all Fifa recognised tournaments. It should be the same with us as these tournaments offer a platform for exposure. This is the reason why Zambia has a lot of professionals because they get exposure.”
Ministry of Youth and Sports spokesperson MacMilan Mwale said Temwa’s feats in the US on her debut season have made her role model to girl child in Malawi.
“As a government, we appreciate Temwa’s achievement. It’s a double impact as the Ministry responsible for Youth and Sports as she also falls in both. We encourage other athletes to work hard and emulate her example as through such international exposure, our national teams can also be strong.”
National Women’s Football Association chairperson Adellaide Migogo said her achievement is in line with FAM President Fleetwood Haiya’s transforming the Game Agenda.
Among others, she broke records such as Most Goals Scored in Season (20), Most Consecutive Goal Scoring Run (8), Scoring Against All Teams (13) and capped it with Most Valuable Player.
