By FIFA
Having already made history at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, prolific striker and Zambia captain Barbra Banda is out to build on her success at Paris 2024.
“Football is a game of chances so, if I have the opportunity to have another record, then I definitely have to utilise that opportunity wisely.”
Barbra Banda is making no secret of her ambitions just days away from competing in her second Women’s Olympic Football Tournament at Paris 2024. At just 24, Zambia’s captain has already amassed an array of eye-catching individual achievements.
In 2018, she became the first Zambian player to join a European club when she signed for Spanish team Logrono. At Tokyo 2020 – in the Zambia women’s national team’s maiden appearance at the Games – she then became the first player to score hat-tricks in back-to-back Olympic matches.
“Teamwork helped me score all those goals. I was never going to do that on my own”, she told FIFA in an exclusive interview.
Banda also had the honour of scoring the 1,000th goal in the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ at Australia & New Zealand 2023. She netted from the penalty spot in a 3-1 group-stage win over Costa Rica – the Copper Queens’ first victory in a World Cup.
It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that another milestone could follow at Paris 2024. A total of 454 goals (excluding penalty shootouts) have been scored at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament.
With the 500-mark within sight, that could be enough to give ideas to Banda who, after signing for Orlando Pride last March, became the first Zambian to score in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). In fact, she tops the league’s scoring charts with 12 goals in 12 outings for the club where her idol, Marta, also plays.
Full Interview: https://www.fifa.com/…/barbra-banda-zambia-interview..
