Malawi Women’s National Football Team trio Coach Lovemore Fazili, and the Chawinga sisters, Tabitha and Temwa, have not made it into the top 10 of the 2023 Confederation of African Football (Caf) awards.
The awards gala is slated for December 11 at the Palais des Congress Movenpick, Marrakech, Morocco.
The Scorchers were nominated for the National Team of the Year award after winning the Cosafa Cup following a 2-1 victory over Zambia in the finals.
Fazili was nominated for the Coach of the Year award for inspiring the team whereas Tabitha and Temwa also earned nominations for their outstanding performances this year.
However, Caf announced the shortlists for women’s category for the awards on Monday but none from Malawi made it on to the list.
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The list is expected to be trimmed further ahead of the awards.
Fazili said it was high time the Scorchers participated in all competitions.
“It is difficult for us to compete against teams that played at the Afcon and World Cup finals. Honestly, Tabitha and Temwa are good players but we are doing injustice to them if we do not participate in some competitions,” Fazili said.
Tabitha wrote her own piece of history as the first female African player to win the Italian Serie A golden boot award with 23 goals in 21 matches for Inter Milan Women.
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Temwa won the golden boot award at the Cosafa Women’s Championship with nine goals and was also named player of the tournament.
She also won three golden boot awards in China and two cups plus the Chinese Women’s League.
Temwa said the Scorchers will be recognised internationally if they participate in major competitions.
“It is sad that we do not take part in big tournaments,’’ she said.
Former Scorchers striker Linda Kasenda said chances were slim for Malawians.
“We cannot win international awards if we only compete in Cosafa Cup,’’ Kasenda said.
The top 10 shortlist includes Zambian Barbara Banda, Nigerian Asisat Oshoala, Ajara Nchout Njoya from Cameroon and South African Thembi Kgatlana.
