Wed, July 15, 2026 at 8:00 PM UTC
After more than a year, Kansas City Current star Temwa Chawinga is returning to suit up for her native country, Malawi.
Chawinga, and her sister, Tabitha, will be leading Malawi in the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. This will be her first appearance with the national team since February 2025.
The prestigious tournament will also serve as a 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier for African nations; the four semifinalists automatically qualify for the World Cup and the four losing quarter finalists will play for the final two qualifying spots.
WAFCON was postponed to its July 25 start date from March, placing the tournament a little more than a week after the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup.
Malawi begins the tournament against defending champion Nigeria on July 28 at 3 p.m. Central before facing Egypt on Saturday, Aug. 1, at noon. Their final group-stage match is against Zambia and Orlando Pride star Barbra Banda at 3 p.m. on Aug. 5.
Fans can watch the tournament across several platforms such as beIN Sports, SuperSport, and the CAF TV platform.
Chawinga has represented Malawi since her debut as an 18-year-old in 2016. She captained Malawi to lifting the 2023 COSAFA Women’s Championship (a tournament between Southern African teams) where she won both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball for scoring nine goals.
She has at least 16 caps and more than 22 goals for the Scorchers.
Chawinga, third in the NWSL Golden Boot race with eight goals, will play with the Current at 7 p.m. Friday against San Diego Wave FC before joining her national team.
Depending on how far Malawi goes in the tournament, Chawinga could miss at least five matches for the Current. She’ll miss matches against Boston Legacy FC (July 25), Racing Louisville (July 29), Angel City FC (Aug. 1) and Houston Dash (Aug. 8).
If Malawi advances to the semifinals on Aug. 12, she could also miss the Current’s Aug. 14 match against NJ/NY Gotham FC.
The Current will look to climb from sixth in the NWSL standings during the heart of the season without its most crucial piece.
