Scorchers captain Tabitha Chawinga has been nominated for the sports woman and sportsperson of the year in the seventh edition of the Regional Annual Sports Awards (Rasa).
Taonele Banda and Moses Misoya have also been nominated for Sportswoman of the Year with a Disability and Sportsman of the Year with a Disability Awards.
Completing the five nominees for Malawi is the Malawi Under-19 Women’s National Cricket Team.
The awards are scheduled for May 24 in Zimbabwe.
Tabitha has made the grade because of her exploits in France last year where she won the Most Valuable Player, golden boot and Players’ Player of the Season Awards while with Paris Saint Germaine (PSG) Feminin.
In the Sportsperson of the Year Award, she is up against Botswana and Zimbabwean athletes Letsile Tebogo and Tapiwanashe Makarawu, respectively.
In the Sportswoman of the Year category, she is competing with Zambian star and reigning African Women’s Footballer of the Year Barbara Banda and Botswana athlete Oratile Nowe.
Last year, Tabitha alongside Banda, was nominated for the CAF Africa Women’s Footballer of the Year, Ballon d ‘Or, Fifa, Cosafa and Blobal Soccer Awards women’s best player awards.
This year, she was crowned 2024 Malawi Sport Awards sportswoman and sports personality of the year.
Recently, she was also nominated for the French UNFPA Best Female Footballer of the Year Award.
In an interview yesterday, the Olympique Lyonnais forward said she is excited with the nominations.
She said: “As I always say, just the recognition alone means a lot and I value it a lot. I thank God Almighty for His blessings.
“I congratulate the other nominees, especially my compatriots and let’s see how it goes.”
Meanwhile, Banda has been nominated for her exploits last year in which she stood out in T13 competitions, culminating in her qualifying for Paris 2024 Paralympics after her success in the World Para Athletics Grand Prix..
The Nkhotakota-based visually-impaired Paralympic athlete also won the Malawi Sport Awards Junior Female Sportsperson of the Year with Disability.
On the other hand, Misoya who competes in the T13 category, upped his game in 2024, qualifying for the finals of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games in the 400m T13 and finished eighth in the world.
He also stood out at the Morocco Grand Prix in April 2024, where he won silver in men’s 200-metre (m) event and a bronze in 400m. He holds a national record in 400m T13 division.
He was also voted Junior Male Sportsperson of the Year at the 2024 Malawi Sport Awards held in February.
As for the Malawi Under-19 Women’s National Cricket Team, it made the grade after defying the odds to win the Under-19 Women’s T-20 World Cup Africa Division Two Qualifying Tournament.
Malawi National Council of Sports chief executive officer Henry Kamata said: “This is the most prestigious stage in Southern Africa where our athletes are recognised and celebrated.
“Malawi is one of the countries that has most nominees in the region. It is an honour for our country that the region is able to recognise the abundant athletic talent that Malawi has.
“We celebrate with all our nominees and all athletes in the country for this recognition. We pray that Malawi will produce some winners in the award categories.”
Only one Malawian athlete Moneyi Chingaipe has won the regional awards, having been named Junior Female Sports Person of the Year in 2019.
