 Banda withZambia in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (2000-03-20)20 March 2000 (age 25)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Lusaka, Zambia | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Orlando Pride | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2018 | Green Buffaloes | ||
| 2018–2020 | Logroño | 28 | (15) |
| 2020–2023 | Shanghai Shengli | 13 | (18) |
| 2024– | Orlando Pride | 23 | (15) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014 | Zambia U-17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2016– | Zambia | 63 | (57) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 March 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 July 2024 | |||
Barbra Banda (born 20 March 2000) is a Zambian professionalfootballer who plays as astriker forNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL) clubOrlando Pride and captains theZambia national team.
Banda is widely considered one of the top women's players in the world. She is Africa's all-time top scorer inOlympic football history, having scored three hat tricks at two Olympic Games. She led Zambia to win the2022 COSAFA Women's Cup, earning the Golden Ball with ten goals. In 2024, she was namedAfrican Women's Footballer of the Year,BBC Women's Footballer of the Year and to theFIFPRO Women's World 11.
In 2024, Banda signed with the Pride for thesecond-highest transfer fee in women's football history at the time. In her first season in the NWSL, she led the Pride to theNWSL Shield,2024 NWSL Championship, and was named theNWSL Championship Most Valuable Player.
Banda was born inLusaka, the Zambian capital. She began playing football around the age of seven playing on the streets.[2][3] Banda was inspired by her father who played football and would encourage her to practise.[4] She played with boys as the academy she attended did not have a girls team.[5] After her parents became concerned that her focus on the sport was interfering with schooling, she would sometimes sneak out and "throw them (boots) out the window, then go out the door, and they'd think maybe she's just going outside, and then I'd go round to get them."[5]
Banda signed with Spanishfirst division clubEDF Logroño in October 2018 becoming the first woman Zambian footballer to play in Europe.[4] She scored 16 goals in 28 matches with the club.[4]
In January 2020, Banda signed with ChineseSuper League clubShanghai Shengli.[6] She scored in the 23rd minute of her debut for the club on 23 August.[5] Banda went on to score 18 goals in 13 league matches to emerge as the2020 Chinese Women's Super LeagueGolden Boot winner for most goals scored in the league.[7][8]
_057.jpg)
On 7 March 2024, theNational Women's Soccer League clubOrlando Pride announced that they had signed Banda to a four-year contract through the 2027 season.[9] Transferred for a $740,000 fee, the transaction was thesecond-highest in women's football history at the time.[10] Banda made her club debut off the bench in a 1–0 win over theSan Diego Wave on 19 April.[11] She made an impressive first start on 26 April, in which she assisted, scored, and drew apenalty in a 3–2 away win over theWashington Spirit.[12] Banda scored eight goals in her first seven games, tyingSophia Smith for theGolden Boot lead.[13] She was namedNWSL Player of the Month for May with seven goals in five games, including threebraces.[14] On 7 July she scored her 12th goal of the season to open a battle between the league's last two undefeated teams, the Orlando Pride and theKansas City Current, which ended as a 2–1 win for the Pride.[15] Orlando won the2024 NWSL Shield after finishing the regular season in first place, collecting the first trophy in club history.[16] Banda's 13 goals in the season were second in the league only to Kansas City's record-setting scorerTemwa Chawinga.[17]
On 8 November, in the first round of the2024 NWSL Playoffs, Banda scored two times in a 4–1 win over theChicago Red Stars.[18] In the semifinals, she scored Orlando's second goal and assistedMarta for the third in Orlando's 3–2 win against the Kansas City Current.[19] Banda scored the lone goal ofthe NWSL Championship Final on 23 November, threading the ball pastWashington Spirit goalkeeperAubrey Kingsbury at close range to secure a 1–0 victory. She was named the championship'sMVP.[20][21]
Banda's performance throughout the2024 NWSL season led to her being named to theNWSL Best XI, nominated for theBallon d'Or andNWSL MVP, and voted theBBC Women's Footballer of the Year.[22][23]
Banda represented theZambia women's national under-17 football team in the2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. She turned 14 during the tournament.[4]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Barbra Banda scores historic hat trick for Zambiaretrieved 7 July 2023 |
On 6 March 2016, Banda made her senior team debut in a2016 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification match againstNamibia.
Banda captained the Zambian squad at the2020 Olympics in Tokyo, the first time Zambia competed at the international tournament.[24][25] During the team's first group stage match, Banda scored ahat trick against theNetherlands. The match ended 3–10, the worst ever loss for the Zambia women's national football team and the highest-scoring women's football match in Olympics history.[26] In their second group match, Banda scored another hat trick againstChina with the match ending in a 4–4 draw. She became the first woman footballer in Olympic history to score back-to-back hat tricks and the first to score two hat tricks in one tournament.[27] She is Africa's all-time top scorer in Olympic history.[28][29]
On 6 July 2022, Banda and three teammates, including strikerRacheal Kundananji, were ruled ineligible to compete for Zambia in the World Cup-qualifying tournament,Africa Cup of Nations, after a gender verification test found that their natural testosterone levels were above those allowed by theConfederation of African Football, which has strictergender verification rules than the Olympics.[30][31][32] The ruling sparked significant controversy, withHuman Rights Watch describing it as a "clear violation" of her human rights.[33] In August 2022, following Zambia's third-place finish at the tournament (and despite Banda not being able to compete), she and seven of her teammates were promoted by theZambian Army. Banda was given the rank of sergeant, the highest among the group.[34]
In September 2022, Banda led Zambia to win their first2022 COSAFA Women's Cup, the top women's international football tournament for national teams from Southern Africa[35][36] Her ten goals earned her the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament.[35]In June 2023, Banda was named to the Zambian squad for the2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand after being ruled eligible to compete by FIFA in December 2022.[37]
On 7 July 2023, she scored two goals, including the game-winner in the 12th minute ofinjury time, against FIFA #2-rankedGermany, leading #77-ranked Zambia to an astounding 3–2upset. Banda was named Player of the Match.[38] Later that month, on 31 July, Banda won player of the match in Zambia's first win in aWorld Cup, a 3–1 victory overCosta Rica.[39][40] In this game Banda scored Zambia's second-ever World Cup goal, a penalty kick which was also the 1,000th goal in Women's World Cup history.[41]On 9 April 2024, she scored a brace in a 2–0 away extra-time victory overMorocco, qualifying her nation to the2024 Summer Olympics by winning the home-and-away series 3–2 on aggregate.[42]
On 3 July 2024, Banda was called up to the Zambia squad for the2024 Summer Olympics.[43]
November 2024 saw her voted theBBC Women's Footballer of the Year after getting the most reader votes. This came after her performances in the 2024 Olympics,NWSL season, andNWSL playoffs, as well as her becoming the second most expensive women's signing in history.[44] Banda was the subject of an online attack byJ. K. Rowling who implied she is male. US Women's National Team Head CoachEmma Hayes and retired US midfielderMegan Rapinoe defended Banda.[45][46] On 16 December 2024 Banda was voted theAfrican Women's Footballer of the Year for 2024.[47]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
| Zambia's Barbra Banda: The striker who is also a boxerretrieved 7 July 2023 |
After being inspired by Zambian professional boxerCatherine Phiri, Banda started boxing around age 14[4] first as an amateur and then after never losing a bout and other amateurs refusing to fight her, she turned professional.[2][48] Banda competed in five professional bouts and won all five before opting to focus on football.[25]
In 2021, Banda launched the Barbra Banda Foundation which aims to support programs that promote empowerment for women and girls on issues ofeconomic inequality, gender-based violence, lack of access to equal opportunities, teenage pregnancies, and early marriages using the power of sport. The foundation co-hosts an annual football tournament.[49] On the foundation, Banda said, "Like many, I did not come from a place of abundance and hence I understand what it means to need help and no one willing to help you. I have also experienced how much easier life gets when you have people ready to help you on your path to success."[50]
Banda joinedCommon Goal in 2019 pledging at least 1% of her salary to a collective fund that supports football charities around the world.[51]
Banda is considered one of the best women's players in the world.[22][52] A prolific goal-scorer, she possesses rare speed, smart positioning, and creative finishing in front of net.[53] Banda notes Brazilian playerMarta and Portuguese men's footballerCristiano Ronaldo as players she admires.[54][4][55]
 | This articleis missing information about statistics while playing for Green Buffaloes as women athletes have not historically been fairly represented on sports statistics platforms. Please expand the articleby making an edit requestto include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(March 2025) |
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Playoffs[b] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Logroño | 2018–19 | Primera División | 17 | 8 | — | — | 17 | 8 | ||
| 2019–20 | Primera División | 9 | 7 | — | — | 9 | 7 | |||
| Total | 26 | 15 | — | — | 26 | 15 | ||||
| Shanghai Shengli | 2020[57] | Chinese Women's Super League | 13 | 18 | — | — | 13 | 18 | ||
| Orlando Pride | 2024 | NWSL | 22 | 13 | — | 3 | 4 | 25 | 17 | |
| 2025 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 62 | 48 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 66 | 52 | ||
Orlando Pride
Zambia
Individual
Zambia squads | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |
COSAFA Women's Championship Player of the Tournament | |
|---|---|
