NWSL side Orlando Pride has acquired Zambian forward Barbra Banda after paying a $740,000 (€676,000) fee to her previous club, Shanghai Shengli FC, which competes in the Chinese Women’s Super League.
The transfer fee is the second-highest ever in women’s soccer, exceeded only by Bay FC’s $788,000 (€720,000) payment to Real Madrid last month to acquire Banda’s compatriot Racheal Kundananji.
23-year-old Banda, who has signed a four-year deal with the Pride, scored 41 goals across 52 appearances in Shanghai. In Tokyo 2020, she also became the first player ever to score back-to-back hat tricks at the Olympics, scoring in Zambia’s games against China and the Netherlands.
It's official my new home for the next four years is @ORLPride in the @NWSL
Can't wait for this new adventure to begin. #VamosOrlando #BB11 #BlessedChild pic.twitter.com/TRubLWpkQ0
— Barbra Banda (@BarbraBanda11) March 8, 2024
Most recently she scored the 1000th Fifa Women’s World Cup goal in Zambia’s final game (and first-ever WWC win) in the 2023 tournament.
Orlando Pride general manager Haley Carter commented, “Barbra is a natural-born goalscorer and one of the most physically imposing forwards in the world. Turning only 24 years old this month, we have every confidence she will be an impact player in our attack for years to come.”