The ball bows at HER feet
by Mweni Chola
Rachael Kundananji is one of the most exciting players of our time, it’s almost like the sight of a ball summons the purpose in her feet and she has no control over her excellence when she steps on a football pitch.
Source: The Equalizer
After signing for Bay FC from Madrid CFF ,the 23 year old became the first African player, male or female to break a world transfer record, simultaneously smashing the record for the most expensive transfer in women’s football history.
In her first season with Madrid CFF, Kundananji scored 25 league goals in 29 appearances leaving the Golden Boot in the hands of Alba Redondo who scored 28 goals that season, the star also ended Barcelona’s 64 match unbeaten run with a traumatic brace that saw her team beat the champions, largely attributed to her, Madrid CFF finished in 5th place recording their highest finish in the club’s history.
In 2023, Kundananji surpassed all her fellow African players in Europe as the only African player to win three individual awards including the 2023 Marca Women’s Sports Awards Revelation Player of the Year, Mundo Deportivo’s Estrella Damm goal of the Year Award and the Goal 50 player of the Year Award.
The record breaking gene in Zambian Footballers’ blood knows no bounds as Racheal’s teammate and Copper Queens captain Barbra Banda became the second most expensive player in women’s transfer history after her move to Orlando Pride from Shanghai Shengli. The Copper Queens leader totalled 41 goals across 52 career games in Shanghai.
Source: Eurosport
Among other records, Banda is the first player in Olympic history to score back to back hat tricks scoring three against Netherlands and China.
Women’s Football especially in Zambia has improved tremendously in the last few years. The Copper Queens have gone on to become the only African Nation to represent Africa at the 2020 Olympics, they also won bronze at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) and were crowned COSAFA Champions that same year.
Notably, they made their Women’s World Cup debut in 2023 winning a match on their debut becoming the first landlocked African nation to qualify for a senior World Cup, in the same year they qualified for the 2024 WAFCON for a third consecutive time.
The African power house is now ranked 65th in the FIFA World Rankings occupying 5th place in Africa and on the verge of qualifying for the 2024 Olympics should they beat Morocco in their two leg encounter in April this year.
Looking at the evolution of the women’s game through the eyes of the Brazilian legend, Marta, it is evident that the persistence of women in football is paying off although there is still work to be done.
Source: CNN
In an interview with The Athletic, she talked about how she had no female role models to look up to and how that inspired her to be the idol she has become.
Today, there is an endless list of women in football and sport in general who inspire both girls and boys to soar above the stereotypes that exist around them.
Coming from a history where little girls couldn’t even dare to dream of becoming professional footballers, it is inspiring to now see women’s teams selling out stadiums and progress being made in conversations to do with wage disparity. Although the ocean is deep, improvements like these among others give hope that with the right steps and effort, the beautiful game will be void of such challenges and women and girls will effortlessly cross this ocean and dribble their way into the most beautiful horizons.