KANSAS CITY (Nov. 22, 2024) — The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) announced today that Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga has been voted the 2024 NWSL Most Valuable Player. Chawinga is the first player in Current franchise history to earn MVP, capping a historic 2024 season for the Malawi international.
In her debut NWSL season, Chawinga rewrote the history books after posting the most impressive offensive season in league history. Chawinga became the first player in NWSL history to score 20 goals in a single season, record a goal in eight consecutive regular season games and score a goal against every other NWSL team since the league expanded to 10+ teams. Chawinga won the 2024 NWSL Golden Boot, also becoming the first player in franchise history to earn the honor, as she posted the highest regular season goal total of any NWSL player.
With 20 total goals and six assists in 2024, Chawinga also set the NWSL’s single-season record for goal contributions. In all competitions, Chawinga recorded 24 goals and eight assists for the Current.
“We are so proud of Temwa for earning this award,” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “Temwa has come so far this season in a short amount of time and is so important to our team, she is the clear MVP of both our team and the league. She does so much for us both offensively and defensively and, most importantly, she is a great teammate. I am so excited to watch Temwa continue to grow with our club.”
“From the moment Temwa came to Kansas City, we knew she was capable of playing at an MVP level,” said general manager Caitlin Carducci. “Not only has she been an incredible player on the pitch, she’s also been an incredible teammate and representative of the organization off it. Temwa laid an incredible foundation with her play in 2024, and we’re so excited for what’s to come in the years ahead.”
Chawinga started the 2024 regular season with an assist in Kansas City’s historic 5-4 victory over the Portland Thorns in the first-ever match at CPKC Stadium. Chawinga then scored her first goal of the regular season in the Current’s 4-2 victory over Angel City March 30, and notched her first NWSL brace April 20 against Bay FC.
On June 9, Chawinga’s season elevated to legendary status with the start of an historic scoring streak. The run kicked off with a brace against the Seattle Reign and continued over Kansas City’s next eight NWSL regular season matches. Chawinga tied the previous league-record scoring streak with a breakaway finish amid a torrential downpour against the North Carolina Courage Sept. 1, marking her seventh consecutive NWSL regular season contest with a goal.
Chawinga broke the record the following weekend, extending her NWSL record scoring streak to eight matches with a game-winning goal in the Current’s 1-0 victory over the Utah Royals. Her streak was snapped the following weekend, but Chawinga rebounded in-stride with a goal in each of the club’s last five regular season matches.
Heading into the Current’s third-to-last match of the NWSL regular season at Bay FC Oct. 12, Chawinga was tied with Sam Kerr’s regular season scoring record of 18 goals. In the 35th minute of the contest, Chawinga made history with a moment of brilliance. She intercepted a Bay FC throw-in in the attacking third and took two touches forward then, despite being pulled by her jersey, fired a shot from outside the penalty area that fizzed into the back of the net. The historic strike marked Chawinga’s 19th of the NWSL regular season, placing her atop the NWSL scoring leaderboard.
The following weekend, in the Current’s final home match of the 2024 regular season, Chawinga notched her 20th goal of the regular season with a goal against the San Diego Wave. The goal marked more history for Chawinga, as she became the first player in NWSL history to score against all 13 other teams in a single season.
For good measure, Chawinga also scored the first NWSL Playoff goal in CPKC Stadium history Nov. 9 against the North Carolina Courage and powered the Current to the 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup Oct. 25 with a first-half brace against NJ/NY Gotham FC.
The finalists for the MVP included Chawinga, Orlando forwards Barbra Banda and Marta, Washington forward Trinity Rodman and Portland forward Sophia Smith. Voting was determined based on a weighted voting scale comprised of players (40%), owners/GM’s/coaches (25%), media (25% and fans (10%).
