Banda the ace in the pack for debutants Zambia

Zambia striker Barbra Banda will hope to light up the 2023 Women’s World Cup in the same way as she secured global recognition at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, with the former professional boxer looking for a knockout punch.

Banda is the star name for the Copper Queens and their chief source of goals. She will be crucial to their chances as they prepare to take on Japan (22 July), Spain (26 July) and Costa Rica (31 July) Down Under.

Banda is a goal-scoring machine. At the Tokyo Olympics, she scored a hat-trick against an excellent Netherlands side, and then followed that up with another treble against China in the very next game.

She became the first player in Olympics women’s football history to score back-to-back hattricks and the first to net two in one tournament. She finished as the second-highest scorer in the competition with her six goals.

The 23-year-old was sorely missed when she sat out the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco on medical grounds, but there was never any doubt she would be appearing at the World Cup.

"We are looking forward to welcoming her to Australia and New Zealand next year to participate," said Fifa’s chief women’s football officer Sarai Bareman.

Banda had recorded testosterone levels above the level allowed for Caf events, but within the band required by the Olympic Commitee and Fifa.

She has continued her superb scoring form, netting a remarkable 10 goals as Zambia claimed the regional Cosafa Women’s Championship title for the first time in 2022, including the historic winner in the 1-0 final victory over South Africa.

Banda scored in recent friendlies with Uzbekistan, South Korea and Switzerland to show she has not lost her touch in 2023.

“My career started when I was at a tender age, but the focus and encouragement from my parents (has been great), as they supported me very well with my career and taught me discipline,” Banda told SuperSport.com previously. “My father used to play at amateur level in Zambia, so he gave me the passion for the game.”

BOXER TURNED FOOTBALLER

Banda started out hoping to be a boxer and won all five of her professional bouts as a teenager before switching to football in 2017.

“I got into boxing when I was around 14 or 15 years. My coach encouraged me saying I can do well in boxing. A lot of people too thought I was good in boxing,” she told the Olympic Channel.

“I never lost any bout, I won all the fights. Then I decided to concentrate on one thing, and I settled for football.”

And it was at the 2017 Cosafa Cup that Banda first rose to international prominence, scoring six goals as a 17-year-old, leading to a move to Spanish top-tier side Logrono, where she scored 16 goals in 28 games.

“The 2017 Cosafa Cup was the start for me. That is where I was scouted to go and play professional football. I had a good experience playing in Spain and was a top scorer in China too.”

Her time in China has been spent at Shanghai Shengli, where she turns out with compatriot Margaret Belemu.

Banda took her inspiration from Cristiano Ronaldo and, in a way, has the same direct, hard-running style and ability to outpace defences and score.

“I like the way Cristiano Ronaldo plays. I like his discipline,” she said previously. “I have the same strength. I run a lot and do the dribbles. I can do something where you did not expect anything, and you just be like... 'Okay, Banda just did that!'."