Barbra Banda

Forward • Age 26 • #22

Barbra Banda is a Zambian professional footballer who plays as a striker for National Women's Soccer League club Orlando Pride and captains the Zambia national team.

128 Appearances

104 Goals

2 Trophies

5 Awards

Fun Facts about Barbra

Quirky facts. Inspired by her game.

She was the first Zambian professional female footballer.

Her inspiration is Cristiano Ronaldo. She admires him for his work ethic.

She is an inspiration to many girls in Zambia, motivating them to break traditional gender roles and pursue professional sports.

She began playing on the street in her neighborhood barefoot as she couldn't afford football shoes.

She was also drawn to boxing as a teen, inspired by Zambian champion Catherine Phiri.

She started boxing around age 14, she became a professional, never losing a match before ultimately choosing to focus on her football career.

Her mother initially discouraged her from playing football because it wasn't acceptable for girls in Zambia.

Her father was her biggest supporter, cheering her on at every game and greatly influencing her early career, but he passed away when she was still young.

She became the first Zambian female footballer to play in Europe.

During the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Barbara made history by becoming the first-ever player to score back-to-back hat tricks in Olympic history, scoring three goals in each of Zambia’s first two games.

She was controversially banned from the 2022 Women’s AFCON for having "high natural testosterone levels," which led to backlash from fans and human rights groups, prompting FIFA to review its policies; this decision was later reversed for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

She started playing football at the age of seven in a boys' academy as there were no girls' teams. She was inspired by her father, who also played.

She transferred to Orlando for a $740,000 fee, the second-highest in women's football history.

She is Africa's all-time top scorer in Olympic history.

In 2021, she launched the Barbra Banda Foundation to empower women and girls by addressing economic inequality, gender-based violence, and other social challenges through sports and co-hosts an annual football tournament in Zambia.