Zambia forward Barbra Banda and Malawi forward Tabitha Chawinga placed 12th and 14th respectively in the 2024 Ballon d’Or award ceremony, Afrosport reports.
Banda and Chawinga are among the biggest African performers in women’s football, the former lighting up the United States National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) with Orlando Pride where she has 13 goals and six assists in 21 games this season.
She also finished as the second highest goalscorer at the Paris 2024 Olympics with four goals, netting a hat-trick in an epic 6-5 loss to Australia.
Chawinga, meanwhile, was in blistering form for Paris Saint-Germain during the 2023-24 season, scoring 19 goals and providing 10 assists to finish as the Premiere Ligue top scorer.
She also scored six goals in the UEFA Women’s Champions League as PSG reached the semi-finals, and scored another four goals in the Coupe de France Feminine which PSG won.
It ultimately led for to joining Lyon for the ongoing 2024-25 season.
2024 Women’s Ballon d’Or ranking:
1️⃣1️⃣ @Patri8Guijarro
1️⃣2️⃣ @BarbraBanda11
1️⃣3️⃣ Lauren James
1️⃣4️⃣ @AdaStolsmo
1️⃣5️⃣ Khadija Shaw #ballondor pic.twitter.com/r2e1AvFuGu— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) October 28, 2024
Banda and Chawinga finished ahead of top names in women’s football such as Lauren James (13th), Khadija Shaw (15th) and Lucy Bronze (19th).
