Malawian international footballer Tabitha Chawinga has signed for French club Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, the club announced on Tuesday evening.
Breaking the news on the club’s website, Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, who won the league last season, said it was pleased to announce the arrival of the best player of the 2023/2024 French championship for the next three seasons.
Transferred from Wuhan Jianghan University, the Malawian international striker, who also captains her country’s women’s national side, is now tied to the club until June 30, 2027. She spent last season with fellow French side PSG Feminin.
“Coveted by many clubs in France and abroad, Olympique Lyonnais Féminin is delighted to have convinced Tabitha Chawinga with its ambitious project for the years to come. After the officialization of Joe Montemurro as coach, the club is convinced that they are considerable assets to achieve the objectives set for this new 2024/2025 season,” the club said in a statement.
Olympique Lyonnais Féminin have dominated the French Women’s league, winning it 17 times since the league was established in 1975. They have won it every year since 2007 except in 2021 when PSG pipped them to the title.
On her part, Chawinga said she was happy to join Olympique Lyonnais Féminin.
“It is a historic club that has already won many Women’s Champions League and French Championship titles. It was a goal of mine to sign for a big club and I am happy to be able to continue my career at OL. I can’t wait for the season to start to meet the coach and my new teammates and I hope that we will continue to win titles together. I am proud to be the first Malawian to come and play in Europe and at Lyon.”
Meanwhile, club president Vincent Ponsot said: “We are very happy to welcome Tabitha to Lyon. Her arrival is in line with the team’s ambitions and in line with the attractive project put in place by Michele Kang. We have a high-quality group that we simply want to strengthen with talented players like Tabitha to maintain our place in the European elite.”
