WAFCON: Everything you need to know about Zambia's attacking weapon Barbra Banda | OneFootball

An iconic figure for the Copper Queens, Barbra Banda is leading her team with an iron fist toward continental glory.

Barbra Banda

Barbra Banda is already lighting up the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. The Copper Queens' captain, crowned African Ballon d'Or winner for 2024, is one of Zambia's biggest assets as they chase their first-ever continental title.

Zambia is currently making waves at the 2024 Women's AFCON. After clinching bronze at the 2022 edition, the Copper Queens are determined to smash their record and write a new chapter in this, their fourth appearance at the tournament. Driven by captain Barbra Banda, the Zambians secured their spot in the quarterfinals on Saturday, July 12. The Orlando Pride forward played a pivotal role, netting three goals and providing one assist across three matches.

5 things to know about Barbra Banda, captain of the Copper Queens

Born in Lusaka on March 20, 2000, Barbra Banda wasn't always destined for football. She first kicked a ball at age seven but explored other avenues. At fourteen, she turned to boxing and even went professional. Her career in the ring was off to a promising start with five consecutive victories before she decided to focus exclusively on football.

Barbra Banda launched her career outside Zambia in 2018, donning the colors of EDF Logroño in Spain from 2018 to 2020 before moving to Chinese club Shanghai Shengli. In 2024, Orlando Pride splashed out $740,000 to secure her services—making it the second most expensive transfer in women's football history, just behind her compatriot Racheal Kundananji. Banda adapted instantly to the American league, finishing the 2024 NWSL season as the second-highest scorer (12 goals) and playing a key role in Orlando Pride’s historic title run. She already boasts 25 goals in 39 matches for the American club.

Her Tokyo 2021 feat remains etched in Olympic history: Barbra Banda became the first female footballer to score back-to-back hat-tricks at the Games. This extraordinary achievement catapulted her onto the international stage and confirmed her status as a lethal striker. Three years later, at the Paris 2024 Olympics, she did it again, notching another hat-trick against Australia.

On July 31, 2023, in a match against Costa Rica, Barbra Banda scored the 1000th goal in Women's World Cup history—exactly 31 years after the very first, netted by China's Ma Li. This landmark moment came during Zambia’s debut at a World Cup finals. Although the Copper Queens exited in the group stage, their captain left an indelible mark on the global women’s game.

NWSL champion with Orlando Pride in 2024, a third Olympic hat-trick at Paris 2024, the first African player ever named to the FIFA/FIFPRO Women's World XI—Barbra Banda's accolades just keep coming. Unsurprisingly, she was crowned 2024 African Women's Player of the Year at the CAF Awards.