• Home
  • Gallery
  • Players Abroad
Thursday, February 2, 2023
Ghana Sports Online
  • Home
  • Sports
    • Athletic
    • Boxing
    • Football
    • Others
    • Tennis
  • News
  • Players Abroad
  • Ghana Premier League
    • Bechem United
    • Berekum Chelsea
    • Dwarfs
    • League Table
    • Hearts of Oak
    • Inter Allies
    • Kotoko
    • Liberty Profs
    • Medeama
    • Legon Cities FC
  • National Teams
    • Black Queens
    • Black Stars
    • U17
    • U20
    • U23
  • Media Gallery
    • Videos
    • Gallery/Pictures
  • Division One
    • Zone 1
    • Zone 2
    • Zone 3
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Sports
    • Athletic
    • Boxing
    • Football
    • Others
    • Tennis
  • News
  • Players Abroad
  • Ghana Premier League
    • Bechem United
    • Berekum Chelsea
    • Dwarfs
    • League Table
    • Hearts of Oak
    • Inter Allies
    • Kotoko
    • Liberty Profs
    • Medeama
    • Legon Cities FC
  • National Teams
    • Black Queens
    • Black Stars
    • U17
    • U20
    • U23
  • Media Gallery
    • Videos
    • Gallery/Pictures
  • Division One
    • Zone 1
    • Zone 2
    • Zone 3
No Result
View All Result
Ghana Sports Online
No Result
View All Result

African ‘twin sisters’ Addo and Chawinga tackle Chinese football together

by El Akyereko
June 6, 2019
African ‘twin sisters’ Addo and Chawinga tackle Chinese football together
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Tabitha Chawinga and Elizabeth Addo call one another “twin sister” and together they are making waves in Chinese women’s football — while also helping each other acclimatise off the pitch.

The African duo are instrumental to the ambitions of Chinese Women’s Super League team Jiangsu Suning, with Chawinga banging in the goals up front and Addo pulling the strings in midfield.

The 23-year-old Chawinga is already captain of Malawi and Jocelyn Precheur, Jiangsu’s French coach, is convinced that she is destined for the very top.

But it hasn’t been an easy path.

Chawinga grew up playing football with boys in her village and was often verbally abused by onlookers who called her a prostitute, saying she was just doing it to sleep with them.

The 25-year-old Addo is Ghana’s skipper and a quiet but steely presence who was raised in an area on the outskirts of the capital Accra known as “Survival City” because it is so tough.

Compared with that, being professional footballers in China’s league and living in Nanjing, a major city near Shanghai, is a breeze.

But as the only foreign players at Nanjing-based Jiangsu, and with just a few words of Mandarin between them, Addo and Chawinga lean heavily on one another.

Neither will be involved at the Women’s World Cup in France when it starts next week because Ghana and Malawi did not qualify, but they will be watching from afar.

“We spend a lot of time together, walking in the streets, eat sometimes in a restaurant together if we don’t want to cook,” Chawinga, the chattier of the duo, told AFP.

“We joke together. She’s a nice girl to me, she’s like my sister.

“It’s the truth — we are just only the two foreigners, and from Africa, so we take care of each other like sisters. We are twins.”

– Broken teeth –

Neither had been to China before joining Jiangsu, who have lifted one domestic cup this season and are in the semi-finals of the other.

Chawinga arrived from Swedish football in early 2018 and has been prolific, hitting 51 goals in 34 games to embellish her reputation as one of the best strikers in women’s football.

She was joined in eastern China by attacking midfielder Addo in March this year, the two reuniting after playing together in Sweden for 18 months.

Chawinga laughs at the reaction they get on the streets of Nanjing, where there are few black faces.

She said: “Many people look at us and think that maybe we are from the same parents, same house. People look at us a lot, like, ‘Hey, you look similar’.”

Their footballing paths also have similarities because they competed against boys when they were younger and were taunted for their love of the game.

Chawinga was a goalkeeper but aged 10 got smashed in the mouth by a boy’s knee — “breaking my teeth” — and decided to play as a striker instead.

But as good as she was, Chawinga was regularly targeted for insults.

“People talk a lot, ‘Hey, she just plays football, look at her, she goes to sleep with the boys’.

“But I didn’t care, I knew the truth myself,” she said.

There were also objections from her mother.

“My mum also used to fight me and say ‘Don’t play football, girls can’t play football with the boys, stop playing football’.

“Now she’s very happy for me to play football.”

– ‘Careful with my sister’ –

Addo arrived in China after stints in several countries including Sweden, the United States and Australia.

She and Chawinga have lined up together half-a-dozen times so far for Jiangsu, with Addo setting up three of her friend’s goals and scoring three times herself.

“When I have the ball, she knows what I’ll do next,” said Addo.

“I know her movement — when she’s ‘flying’ and when she’ll stay.”

Addo paused when asked about the prospect of playing against Chawinga in an international.

Then she said, smiling broadly: “That would be great, I can’t wait for that day.

“But maybe I would mark someone else and I would tell my players, ‘Hey, be careful with my twin sister’.”

Credit:sports.yahoo.com

Share35TweetPin
El Akyereko

El Akyereko

Related Posts

AFC elects new Executive Committee and FIFA reps
Football

AFC elects new Executive Committee and Asia’s FIFA Council members

February 2, 2023
AFC and Saudi Arabia
Football

Saudi Arabia confirmed as hosts of the AFC Asian Cup 2027

February 2, 2023
AFC President
Football

Re-elected AFC President Shaikh Salman lauds Asian unity

February 2, 2023
33rd AFC Congress
Football

Asia-Pacific ties strengthened as the AFC and OFC extend MoU

February 2, 2023
Load More
Next Post
VIDEO: Kotoko Chief George Amoako explains reason to withdraw from NC Special Cup

VIDEO: Kotoko Chief George Amoako explains reason to withdraw from NC Special Cup

Upcoming Fixtures

DateEventTime/ResultsVenue

GPL 2021/2022

PosTeamPWDLPts
1Kotoko341910567
2Medeama SC341681056
3Bechem Utd341315654
4Karela United341313852
5Gt. Olympics3412121048
6Hearts of Oak3412121048
7AshantiGold341381347
8B. Chelsea3412111147
9Legon Cities3411131046
10Gold Stars341441646
11Aduana Stars3411121145
12Accra Lions341291345
13Dreams FC3411111244
14King Faisal341261642
15R.T.U3410111341
16XI Wonders3410101440
17WAFA SC348111535
18Elmina Sharks34582123

Latest Items

AFC elects new Executive Committee and FIFA reps

AFC elects new Executive Committee and Asia’s FIFA Council members

February 2, 2023
AFC and Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia confirmed as hosts of the AFC Asian Cup 2027

February 2, 2023
AFC President

Re-elected AFC President Shaikh Salman lauds Asian unity

February 2, 2023
33rd AFC Congress

Asia-Pacific ties strengthened as the AFC and OFC extend MoU

February 2, 2023
  • Home
  • Gallery
  • Players Abroad
Call us: +233 800 800 500

© 2020 - Ghana Sports Online

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Sports
    • Athletic
    • Boxing
    • Football
    • Others
    • Tennis
  • News
  • Players Abroad
  • Ghana Premier League
    • Bechem United
    • Berekum Chelsea
    • Dwarfs
    • League Table
    • Hearts of Oak
    • Inter Allies
    • Kotoko
    • Liberty Profs
    • Medeama
    • Legon Cities FC
  • National Teams
    • Black Queens
    • Black Stars
    • U17
    • U20
    • U23
  • Media Gallery
    • Videos
    • Gallery/Pictures
  • Division One
    • Zone 1
    • Zone 2
    • Zone 3

© 2020 - Ghana Sports Online