JustBy James Sibeleki
THE Zambia women’s national team has laid down the marker and have won affection of million Zambian fans following their FIFA World Cup qualification, a feat that has been elusive to their men’s counterparts.
Not so long ago, Women’s football was an afterthought in the country but an impressive run by the Copper Queens has triggered a paradigm shift.
Their men’s counterparts, despite registering success at regional and continental level; as well as a camel of appearances at junior level of the World Cup– they have felt short of qualifying to FIFA’s flagship tournament.
On several occasion, the erstwhile KK-11 have been to the cusp of clinching a FIFA World Cup Qualification but missed by a whisker.
Prior to the 1993 Gabon air-clash and during the 1994 USA World Cup qualification matches, the Chipolopolo boys were favourites but the unfortunate disaster that saw all it’s players perish, denied them an opportunity to compete at the most coveted Showpiece.
However the silver lining were to eminate from an unlikely source, the Zambia Women’s national team, the Copper Queens.
Traditionally, African Women’s Football has been dominated by the Super Falcons of Nigeria who are currently record holders of the Africa Women Cup of nations (AWCON).
Before Assisat Oshoala, the current Africa’s best women player–there was her predecessors Perpetual Nkwocha and Mercy Akide Udoh who was the continents leading scorer at the Olympics.
However now there is a new dawn of era, eminating from the Southern shores of the Sub-Sahara Africa, 23 year old and Zambia’s captain Barbra Banda.
From the dust streets of Lusaka, Barbra Banda has earned her strippes for her name to be mentioned in the same sentence with collusus such as USA Megan Rapinoe, a former Women’s Ballon’dior winner; Chelsea and Germany’s Elexandra Popp who was mentored by countrymen Mesult Ozil; and Arsenals Berth Mead who propelled England to their European Euro triumph.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Banda announced herself to the World after wreking up records.
She became the first African women’s footballer to score back to back hat-tricks in Zambia’s 3-10 loss to Netherlands and 4-4 stalemate against China.
Sadly, Banda was subquently denied participation at the 2022 AWCON in Morocco as the Copper Queens reached the semifinals for the first time–but lost to South Africa by a dismal penalty on the verge of the end of the encounter.
The Copper Queens had to redeem themselves by clinching a 3rd slot by beating Nigeria to qualify to the World Cup, a feat that has eluded Zambia since independence in 1964.
As the copper queens played Germany in their final friendly match, there was cheers in the streets of Livingstone after Barbra Banda completed her brace to beat the second ranked team in the World 3-2.
As the FIFA Women World cup looms large this month, the Zambia women’s football team will be a team to watch and Barbra Banda Africa’s poster girl.
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