WAFCON 2026 : Chawinga Sisters and Malawi’s Uncharted Territory
Malawi’s remarkable run at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) has become one of the biggest stories of the tournament, with sisters Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga at the heart of the Scorchers’ historic campaign.
The sisters have combined for nine of Malawi’s 12 goals, inspiring the tournament debutants to their first-ever WAFCON final, where they will face Cameroon at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat on Sunday.
For a nation making its first appearance at the continental showpiece, Malawi have already gone beyond expectations.
But their journey has been fuelled by the extraordinary attacking partnership of the Chawinga sisters.
Their breakthrough moment came in the group stage when Malawi stunned defending champions Nigeria 3-2.
Temwa scored twice before Tabitha completed the comeback with the decisive goal.
The sisters continued their influence in the knockout stages.
Malawi defeated Ghana 2-1 in the quarter-finals to secure a place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil before producing another outstanding performance against Algeria in the semi-finals.
Tabitha scored twice while Temwa added the other as the Scorchers secured a 3-1 victory and booked their place in the final.
Temwa has now scored five goals and added two assists, giving her seven goal involvements, the highest of any player at the tournament.
She is level with Zambia’s Barbra Banda at the top of the Golden Boot standings, while Tabitha has four goals.
Beyond their impact in Morocco, the Chawinga sisters have established impressive careers on the international club scene.
Tabitha has played in Europe and the United States, while Temwa has become one of the leading stars in the NWSL, where she won back-to-back MVP awards in 2024 and 2025 and set a single-season scoring record with 20 goals in 2024.
Now, the sisters have a chance to complete Malawi’s remarkable fairytale.
CAF statistics show that Malawi have scored a tournament-high 12 goals, although they are yet to keep a clean sheet.
Cameroon, meanwhile, have conceded only twice and have kept three clean sheets.
The final kicks off at 8:00pm GMT on Sunday, with history awaiting the winner.
For Malawi, however, the story has already been transformed.
And at the centre of that transformation stand two sisters who have turned their country’s WAFCON debut into a continental football fairytale.
