Celebrated women’s football sensation Temwa Chawinga has a chance to retain the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) 2025 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award as she is among the nominees for the accolade.
The Scorchers forward is the only African nominated for the US women’s top-flight award she won in her debut season last year.
The Kansas City (KC) Current forward is also the only African to have won it before.
If she wins the award, Temwa will become the second player to win it multiple times after Sam Kerr, who won it in 2017 and 2019.
The other nominees are her Brazilian teammate Bia Zaneratto, French winger Delphine Cascarino of Fan Diego Wave, Spanish striker Esther Gonzalez of Gotham FC and Japanese midfielder Manaka Matsukubo of North Carolina Courage.
In an interview, Temwa, who retained the league’s golden boot with 15 goals, said she is delighted with the recognition.
She said: “It’s not easy to make the list because there are many world-class players in the NWSL.
“Credit should go to my teammates because of their encouragement and support. They keep pushing me to go an extra mile and that means a lot to me. Football is about team work and all the recognition is largely due to their contribution.”
National Women’s Football Association chairperson Adelaide Migogo said they are delighted that Temwa continues to be nominated for major awards.
“We are proud of Temwa’s exploits as she continues to put Malawi on the map. It is not surprising that she has been nominated for the MVP Award again considering the records she broke this season,” she said.
“Her continued recognition is testimony that she is among the best in the world.”
The winner will be announced on November 19.
In September, American multi-platform sports media outlet ESPN ranked the favourite to win the award based on statistics.
The 2025 NWSL Awards are voted upon in two rounds, with fans having the opportunity to participate in the final round of the voting process.
In the preliminary round of voting, players, owners, general managers, coaches and the media voted on individual awards to determine the finalists.
KC Current coach Vlatko Andonovski is also in contention for the Coach-of-the-Year Award.
Apart from Temwa, other big-name African players who play in the NWSL are Zambians Barbara Banda and Rachael Kundananji, Nigerians Asisat Oshoala and Michelle Alozie and South African duo of Hilda Magaia and Linda Mothalo.
This year, Temwa has been nominated for three major awards, namely: Women’s Ballon d’Or in which she finished 17th, the Fifa Best Women’s Player and the Africa Women’s Footballer-of-the-Year.
