Chawinga bags Sweden Golden Boot Award
Tabitha Chawinga has won the Golden Boot Award for Sweden Women Football third-tier division Norra Svealand side Krokom/ Dvärsätt IF with astounding 39 goals in 18 games.
Her former Lilongwe club, DD Sunshine’s director David Dube confirmed yesterday morning that the Malawi national women football team striker topped the goals’ chart for the 12-member division.
“We as DD Sunshine are happy because she is a big marketing tool for us and Malawi as a country,” Dube said.
There were no readily available details for the actual prizes. Chawinga’s feat comes despite signing for Dvarsatt IF in May while the season was in progress.
Chawinga’s achievement has excited domestic leading female football referee Bernadettar Kwimbira-Nzika who, when contacted from Namibia where she is on duty, congratulated the former DD Sunshine player.
“I think this would open doors for many Malawian women footballers in Europe and together with the other professionals in South Africa, FAM will not make a mistake to register our national women team for African Women Championship 2016,” she explained.
National Women Football Committee (NWFC) chairperson Severia Chalira yesterday said “we are proud that Malawi has just produced a potential player in football just as our friends have done in netball. We wish her well.”
The 18-year-old Malawian girl is on the move to a top tier league team come next season. Dvarsatt IF is set to sign DD Sunshine defender Chimwemwe Madise next season.
Dube confirmed that Madise “is second on our Europe export list after Tabitha Chawinga. A good pool of our Under-20 girls is also candidates for export.”
Reports suggest that Dvarsatt IF finished fourth, thereby missing promotion to the second-tier league, Norra Svealand. The highest league is called Damallsvenskan and has 12 teams.
The second league has 14 teams. Below the Elitettan, there are six division ones divided in regions in Sweden each comprising 12 teams.Therefore, Dvärsätts IF plays in division one called Norra Svealand.
The winners of each division one championship are divided into two qualification groups with three teams in each. The two winners of each group qualify for Elitettan.
