Malawi’s female football athlete Tabitha Chawinga rose to stardom and claimed a golden boot award with 23 goals in the Italian Women Serie A League.

The Scorchers captain has outclassed fellow contender Cristiana Girelli from Juventus Ladies who has 15 goals. However, her team has finished the league on position 5 after AS Roma Ladies have clinched the championship with 67 points from 26 games.

Chawinga hogged the limelight by scoring in almost each game for her club this season, luring interest from other European teams. This has made her become the first African player to win the accolade.

FAM president Walter Nyamilandu has been quoted in the Nation newspaper as saying the association will honour Chawinga for her exploits.

“Tabitha deserves special recognition for her achievements. She is making us proud by putting Malawi on the map,” he said.

On her Facebook Page post, Tabitha had this to say: “There are hundreds of million players in the world but what matters most to stand out is the combination of Talent, Work Rate, Consistency and Mentality. Thank you for the recognition.”

She is expected back home on June 8, 2023.