John Charles Petro (born 8 February 2001) is a Malawian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or a defender for Liga I club Botoșani and the Malawi national team, which he captains.
Club career Petro joined Big Bullets in 2018, initially playing with their reserve squad in the second-tier Southern Region Football League before being promoted to the first team ahead of the 2019 season, making an instant impact and playing an instrumental role in their second consecutive Super League championship win. For his performance filling in the gap left by injured team captain John Lanjesi, he was named Defender of the Year while also being nominated for the Player of the Year award at the annual league awards ceremony.
After rejecting a trial with South African side Polokwane City, Petro instead underwent a month-long trial at Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol in early 2020. He officially made the move to the club by signing a three-year deal in February.
On 7 March 2023, Petro signed with Romanian Liga I club Botoșani on a two-year deal. At the time, he was one of only two Malawian footballers playing in Europe, along with Kieran Ngwenya. Petro made his debut for Botoșani in a 1–1 league draw against Mioveni on 10 March.
International career Petro represented the Malawi national under-20 football team at the 2017 COSAFA U-20 Cup and during the 2019 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations qualifiers.
He made his senior international debut on 20 April 2019, replacing Gomezgani Chirwa during a 0–0 draw against Eswatini in the 2020 African Nations Championship qualifiers. He also played for Malawi at the 2019 COSAFA Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsBig Bullets2019Super League of Malawi????——??Sheriff Tiraspol2020–21Divizia Națională2211030—2612021–221513050102412022–23Moldovan Super Liga601000—70Total432508010572Botoșani2022–23Liga I90———902023–2414030—201902024–2523031——2612025–2635110—103712026–278020——100Total89191—301012Career total132314180401584
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsMalawi20191002020402021100202230202330202420202560202670Total450
Honours
Club Big Bullets Super League of Malawi: 2019
Sheriff Tiraspol Divizia Națională: 2020–21, 2021–22 Moldovan Cup: 2021–22 Moldovan Super Cup runner-up: 2021
Individual Super League of Malawi Defender of the Year: 2019
References
External links Charles Petro at FC Botoșani