Charles Petro

John Charles Petro (born 8 February 2001) is a Malawian professional footballer who plays as a defender or a defensive midfielder for Liga I club Botoșani and the Malawi national team.

Charles Petro

Personal information
Full name	John Charles Petro
Date of birth	(2001-02-08) 8 February 2001 (age 24)
Place of birth	Blantyre, Malawi
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Defender, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Botoșani
Number	28
Youth career
0000–2018	PremierBet Wizards
2018–2019	Big Bullets
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2018	PremierBet Wizards
2018–2019	Big Bullets Reserves
2019–2020	Big Bullets
2020–2022	Sheriff Tiraspol	43	(2)
2023–	Botoșani	52	(0)
International career‡
2017–2018	Malawi U20
2019–	Malawi	33	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 August 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 12:39, 22 August 2025 (UTC)

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.^[1] For his performance filling in the gap left by injured team captain John Lanjesi,^[2] he was named Defender of the Year while also being nominated for the Player of the Year award at the annual league awards ceremony.^[3]

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.^[1] He officially made the move to the club by signing a three-year deal in February.^[4]

On 7 March 2023, Petro signed with Romanian Liga I club Botoșani on a two-year deal.^[5][6] At the time, he was one of only two Malawian footballers playing in Europe, along with Kieran Ngwenya.^[6] Petro made his debut for Botoșani in a 1–1 league draw against Mioveni on 10 March.^[6]

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.^[7][8]

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.^[9] He also played for Malawi at the 2019 COSAFA Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.^[10][11]

Career statistics

International

As of match played 20 March 2025^[9]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Malawi
	2019	10	0
	2020	4	0
	2021	10	0
	2022	3	0
	2023	3	0
	2024	2	0
	2025	1	0
Total		33	0

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