In the final of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, Malawi will have to do without Rose Kadzere, who is suspended after her red card against Algeria in the semi-final. In this context, Faith Chinzimu, usually playing a deeper role in midfield, will need to step up.
Speaking to Flashscore, George Maguire, co-founder of Ascent Soccer, summed up the challenge bluntly: "A huge part of the responsibility falls on Faith and the Chawinga sisters, both to score and to create. Almost all of Malawi's goals at this WAFCON have come from the Chawingas, Faith, or Rose, and a good share of the assists too. With Rose suspended, and the Chawingas likely to play higher up and wider, that puts a lot of responsibility on Faith."
This is a responsibility the teenage midfielder is already used to shouldering: she scored against Egypt in the group stage, provided the assist for Temwa Chawinga’s goal to make it 0-2 in the 1-3 semi-final win over Algeria, and above all, was the architect of Malawi’s very first WAFCON qualification, scoring twice in two minutes against Angola.
Discovery in Area 49 of Lilongwe
Born on February 12th, 2007, in Lilongwe, the Malawian capital, Chinzimu grew up with a ball at her feet, playing in the street, before being spotted by Ascent Soccer.
Maguire recalls her early days, a far cry from the player she is now: "One of our Malawian coaches saw her playing in Area 49, a neighbourhood in Lilongwe close to our academies. He told us about this talented player he had seen. She had barely played any organised football. She was nothing like the player she is today, even though she was already very athletic and showed the beginnings of a solid foundation.
"During her trial, she really absorbed what we taught her and learned quickly. We thought there was something to build on, though we didn’t know how far she’d go. Faith just kept improving, again and again. It was something we thought possible, I suppose, but we didn’t know it would turn out like this."
Chinzimu confirms this story in her own words: "I started playing football when I was young, playing with boys in the street and at school, because I loved the game. Football gave me joy and a purpose. As I grew up, I became more serious and joined teams," she told CAF before the quarter-final against Ghana.
She emphasised the price she paid to get here: "My journey hasn’t been easy, but my passion and my family’s support kept me going. I play because I want to represent Malawi and make my country proud."
On her progress at the academy, Maguire draws a telling comparison with Kadzere: "Rose was immediately technically brilliant, whereas Faith really grew into it before she started producing things. We were amazed by her ability to beat players, break lines, and use the ball. Then she really added end product to her game: she started scoring and assisting. She’s always been tall and athletic, so part of her aerial ability was already there."
He adds, regarding her character: "Faith has a fantastic personality and a very positive mindset. We’ve never had the slightest disciplinary issue with her, and that’s all to her credit."
First steps with national team, mirroring Kadzere
Chinzimu played her first international tournament at the 2022 COSAFA U17, held at home, where she scored four goals in 33 minutes against Namibia, then a hat-trick against Botswana to finish third in the competition.
"It was the first time I wore the national team colours. It was very special because it was at home, with our fans behind us. Scoring a hat-trick against Botswana in that 9-0 win was incredible. Hearing the crowd cheer us on gave me so much confidence. It made me believe I could do more for Malawi," she recalled.
She finished the tournament with seven goals in four matches, one less than Kadzere, the competition’s top scorer: the two players were already carrying the hopes of a generation.
In August 2023, at just 16, she was called up to Malawi’s senior team. Maguire sees this as key to understanding the composure both players now show: "Rose and Faith were already playing for the senior team at 16. What’s true for both is that they have an extraordinary temperament for big occasions at their age. They always step up, and they’ve done so since their academy days."
He stresses the value of this early exposure: "The international experience they both gained, with the youth teams and then the senior team, helps a lot in handling pressure, which is very useful for an African player trying to make it in European football. They have experience with the Cosafa Cups, WAFCON qualifiers, and friendlies the federation invested in, against Australia, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, and Morocco. These are not small nations."
2024-2025: The rise that keeps accelerating
In 2024, Chinzimu’s progress was rapid. With Ascent Soccer, she won the academy’s first-ever senior women’s national championship title in Malawi, with a squad averaging below 18 years old under coach Thom Mkolongo.
The team then became the first Malawian youth side to qualify for the preliminary rounds of the African Champions League, and scored eight goals at the Rey Cup in Iceland, several of them by Chinzimu against Bayern Munich and Brighton & Hove Albion, as well as a spectacular solo goal against Arsenal.
In October, she scored her first senior international goal against Botswana, in a 1-1 draw at the COSAFA Women’s Championship in Gqeberha.
Almost exactly a year later, she cemented her place in Malawian football history: her two goals in two minutes against Angola, in Lilongwe on October 28th, 2025, secured the country’s first-ever AFCON qualification.
"After that match, I felt immense joy and pride. I thought of my family, my coaches, and everyone who supported me. We made history and put Malawian women’s football on the map," she explained.
That brace alone sums up what Maguire has seen since her early days: "No matter the level we asked Faith to play at, she scored. Whether it was in the Central Region League, national championship, Champions League, Cosafa, U17, U20, senior national team, at Hacken, and now at AFCON, she’s scored from midfield."
Heading to Europe, all the way to Sweden
It was also in spring 2025, just after her 18th birthday, that her move to Europe took shape. Chinzimu went on several professional trials across the continent, including with FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark and AS Roma in Italy, before finally convincing Hacken, a regular in the Women’s Champions League.
At the end of July 2025, she signed with the Gothenburg club on a contract running until 2028, becoming the second Ascent Soccer graduate in less than a year to join a top-level club directly, after Kadzere’s move to Montpellier.
At her unveiling, she already described her mindset and playing style: "There are some very good players in the team, and they welcomed me really well... I think I can bring a lot and help the team win. I’m a player who likes to set up my teammates to score. Long passes and dribbling are among my biggest strengths.
"I’m so excited and grateful for this amazing opportunity. Ascent Soccer has done so much for me to help me reach this stage," she added.
Her connection with her former academy has never been broken: in 2026, when Ascent Academy teams were in Sweden, it was Chinzimu herself who organised friendly matches between her old academy and her new club.
At Hacken, she quickly confirmed her potential, winning the Swedish championship and even playing in the final of the brand new Women’s Europa Cup against Hammarby, becoming the first Malawian player - male or female - to win a European final.
"It’s something I never imagined experiencing, playing at such a level. I’m grateful to have had this opportunity," she said at the time.
Following in the Chawingas' footsteps
Tactically, Maguire is clear about her best position: "I think her best role is as a central midfielder. She has the engine to go up and down. Her athleticism, in this Malawian team, is really important in the central midfield."
He recalls the experiment against Egypt, after central defender Rose Alufandika was sent off: "We saw her play at centre-back against Egypt. Then in the next match she did well to limit Barbra Banda when played centrally and won a lot of aerial duels. But Malawi lost some of that engine in midfield. And in the knockout rounds, we saw just how important that is."
At Hacken, she has also often been used higher up, on the right, but Maguire sees this as a compromise: "I think it’s in central midfield that we get the best out of her: the balance she brings to Malawi, the way she uses the ball, starts moves, gets on the end of plays and attacks. She can also create, as we saw with her assist for Temwa against Algeria. Not every player at this WAFCON can think of that kind of pass in the intensity and physicality of these matches."
And he adds, already thinking about the final: "Especially with Rose suspended, I think Faith will be really important tonight for the WAFCON final, in midfield."
Against Cameroon, she will need to serve the two Chawinga sisters, captain Tabitha and her sister Temwa, who also played in the Swedish league and are her idols: "Playing with Tabitha and Temwa is a huge blessing. I’ve learned so much about discipline, hard work, and self-confidence. They always tell me to stay focused, work hard in training, and never be afraid to take initiative. They lead by example. They prove that if you come from Malawi, you can still reach the top. They push me to be better every day."
Before the AFCON semi-final, she was already aware of what was at stake in qualifying for the 2027 World Cup: "It would mean everything. For me, for the team, and for every young girl in Malawi who dreams of playing football. We carry the hopes of the whole country, and we want to make Malawi proud."
A prayer and a dream
On the road to the final, one episode stood out during the quarter-final against Ghana. Chinzimu had slipped a handwritten prayer into her shirt, mixing Bible verses and words of encouragement, which cameras caught during the match. "Give me wisdom. Calm my heart and clear my mind," it read, along with passages calling for strength in effort and collective support:
"Help me trust my teammates and give my best... When I’m tired, renew my strength. When I’m afraid, remind me you are with me," and also a call to play "with confidence, discipline, and courage."
Amid speculation about traditional practices, coach Lovemore Fazili was keen to clarify the situation: "At first, it was to motivate them, to make them fight until the end of the match," he explained, before dismissing any other interpretation: "Anyone who believes in juju isn’t going to show it to journalists. You just have to take it for what it is: paper and motivational messages."
Still, on Sunday, without Kadzere by her side for the first time in the campaign, Chinzimu will need to be more present than ever in building Malawi’s play, between the two Chawinga sisters.
It's a role Maguire sums up as a matter of mentality more than talent: "I think she has the mentality for it, 100%. We’ll see what happens tonight in the final. But nothing would make me happier than to see Faith score or provide an assist."
The player who has always stepped up for the Scorchers on the big stage will once again have to take on the role of national hero and hope to lead Malawi to win the Africa Cup in their very first appearance at the tournament. There’s no doubt Kadzere will have some advice for her former academy teammate...