The last few years have seen the rise of Zambian womens footballas the Copper Queens and their players make history. COSAFA Championship, WAFCON World Cup In July 2022, Zambia reached the semi-finals of the WAFCON for the first time in Morocco where they finished third and therefore, qualified for the Womens World Cup for the first time. Two monthslater, Barbra Banda led Zambia to win their first COSAFA Womens Championship triumph in South Africa -scoring ten goals whichearned her the Golden Ball Award. The Copper Queens then made their debut appearance in the Womens World Cup during the 2023 edition in Australia and New Zealand where they bowed out in the group stage. However, Bruce Mwapes side secured an impressive 3-1 win over Costa Rica in their final group match courtesy of goals from Banda, Lushomo Mweemba and Racheal Kundananji. Back-To-Back OlympicQualification Zambia are the only African side to qualify for both the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games thanks to their consistencyunder coach Mwape - the 2022 CAF Womens Coach of the Year nominee. The 2020 edition saw one of the Copper Queens star players, Banda set new records in Japan after she scored back-to-back hat-tricks against the Netherlands and China. The 24-year-old became the first woman footballer in Olympic history to score back-to-back hat tricks and also the first to score two hat tricks in one tournament. Banda, who is Africas all-time top scorer in Olympic history with six goals, will carry Zambias hopes of reaching the knockout phase for the first time in the 2024 edition in France. World Record-Breaking Transfers Zambian players success at both club and international levels has not gone unnoticed as Banda andKundananji have landed record-breaking deals in the USA. In February 2024, Kundananji becamethe worlds most expensive female footballer in history when she joined Bay FC from Spains Madrid CFF after the former parted with $860,000. A month later, Bandajoined Orlando Pride in a blockbuster transfer from Chinese club Shanghai Shengli FC in what is the second-highest womens transfer fee ($740,000). Presently, Kundananjiand Banda are the two of the most expensive female footballers in the world.
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