By 
Zambia Army Commander, Lieutenant General Geoffrey Choongo Zyeele,
has promoted Copper Queens Skipper and Orlando Pride player, Barbra Banda to the rank of Warrant Officer Class Two (WOII) and Bay Football Club’s Racheal Kundananji from Private to the rank of Corporal.
Zyeele said the two players’ performances had been mind-blowing and inspiring to the young female players at her former club, Green Buffaloes, the nation and world.
The Army Commander was speaking at Army Headquarters in Lusaka on Tuesday when he conferred the new ranks on the footballers.
Zyeele said Officers, Men and Women and the entire nation were proud of the duo’s performance and stated that they had demonstrated the fighting spirit and endurance, bringing out the heart of the buffalo among the pride of lions.
“WOII Banda has had a superb season, having broken a record by becoming the first Zambian to win the prestigious BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year Award,” he noted.
Zyeele said Banda’s success comes at the backdrop of a stellar individual brilliance at both National and Club level.
He stated that during the period 2023 to October,2024, WOII Banda became the highest goal-scoring African player in Olympic history with 10 goals.
Read More: Zambia’s Banda named BBC Women’s Footballer of the year
“She was also a pillar of the national team during their Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers that saw her guide the Copper Queens to next year’s WAFCON after a 12-nil score line against Angola, across a two-legged tie,” Zyeele said.
He said following Banda’s record-breaking switch from Shanghai Shengli in China to Orlando Pride in USA as the second most expensive woman in the World, Banda scored 13 goals for the Club during the regular season.
Additionally, Banda scored four more goals into the play- offs and assisted 7 times, and was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) to inspire the Club to its first League title.
“The Copper Queens Captain beat Barcelona duo, Aitana Bonmati and Caroline Graham Hansen to win the award. Cpl Kundananji, World’s most expensive woman player valued at $ 860,000 scored five times for her club,” Zyeele said.
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