Barbara Banda and Tabitha Chawinga are the top contenders for the 2024 African Women Footballer of the Year Award and will be the first time a player from Zambia or Malawi will win the award.

Both Banda and Chawinga are coming off of incredible years at their respective clubs. As two of the most prolific goal scorers in the game right now, there’s no question why these two are the favourite for the award

The two African Women's were nominated for 2024 Ballon d'Or Féminin, marking the first time in history two African Women have been nominated for the prestigious award.

Prior to this, Oshoala was the first African female player to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or award. She is the reigning African Women's Footballer of the Year for a record sixth time after winning the award alongside compatriot Victor Osimhen, who won the men's award but she is not a strong contender for this year's award African Player award due to performance last season. 

Tabitha Chaŵinga

Tabitha Chaŵinga is a Malawian International  who plays as a forward for Première Ligue club Lyon and the Malawi national team.

Chawinga spent the 2023/24 season on loan at PSG after a spell at Inter Milan the season before. Across those two campaigns, she scored 42 goals in 44 appearances, and on her UWCL debut became the first Malawian to play and score in the competition.

Her Performance was enough to win her the 2023 Player of the season award and Golden Boot Award

Barbara Banda

Barbara Banda,  Plays as a striker for National Women's Soccer League club Orlando Pride and captains the Zambia national team.

Banda signed for Orlando Pride earlier this year, becoming the second most expensive player in women’s football history. In the short time she’s been at the club, she has led them to an undefeated season so far, racking up 13 goals in 17 appearances, and is the first player in NWSL history to score 10 goals in 10 matches.

Banda has represented Zambia internationally since 2016. She is Africa's all-time top scorer in Olympic football history, having scored three hat tricks at two Olympic Games.