intro

At 24 years old, Africa’s all-time leading goal scorer in Olympic History Barbra Banda is looking to hold onto that title and lead her Zambia squad to gold. Banda began playing soccer at the age of 7 in the streets of her hometown Lusaka. She then began playing with boys academies because there were no girls teams at the time, and this eventually resulted in her pursuing professional boxing. 

club career

In 2018, however, Banda played a season with the Spanish first-division club EDF Logrono, making her the first Zambian woman to play in Europe. The following three seasons, Banda moved to the Chinese Super League to play with Shanghai Shengli where she was the top scorer of the league in 2020. Just a few months ago, Banda signed a contract to play in the NWSL with Orlando Pride. 

Philanthropy

Outside of the pitch, Banda started the Barbra Banda foundation that aims to support women and girls who are victims of economic inequality, gender-based violence, and other hardships using the power of sport. After 60 international caps and 53 goals, everyone should keep an eye out for the Zambian forward and captain and see if she succeeds to hold onto her top-scoring title in the entire continent.