HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND – JULY 31: Barbra Banda of Zambia celebrates after scoring her team’s second goal from the penalty spot during the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Group C match between Costa Rica and Zambia at Waikato Stadium on July 31, 2023 in Hamilton, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
The Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League have acquired Zambian forward Barbra Banda for a club-record transfer fee.
Banda signed a four-year deal with the Pride, who paid $740,000 to Chinese Women’s Super League club Shanghai Shengli FC, the team said Thursday night.
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It is the second-highest transfer fee in women's soccer, after NWSL expansion team Bay FC paid Real Madrid $788,000 for Zambia forward Racheal Kundananji last month.
Banda became a breakout international star after becoming the first player to have back-to-back hat tricks in an Olympics, scoring three goals against both the Netherlands and China at the Tokyo Games.
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“Barbra is a natural-born goal scorer and one of the most physically imposing forwards in the world," Pride general manager Haley Carter said in a statement. “Turning only 24 years old this month, we have every confidence she will be an impact player in our attack for years to come.”
Banda had 16 goals and five assists with Shanghai Shengli last year. In 2020, she won the Chinese league's Golden Boot with 18 goals in 13 matches.
Banda, who made her international debut in 2016, scored in Zambia's first-ever Women's World Cup victory, a 3-1 group stage win over Costa Rica last summer in New Zealand. It was the 1,000th goal scored in the tournament's history.
