Zambia ready for Olympics after draw against New Zealand

After their historic debut appearance at the Tokyo 2020 Games, they are participating in their back-to-back Olympics.  

From 2018 the Copper Queens have participated in two Women's Africa Cup of Nations and have also qualified for their third WAFCON which will be held in Morocco in June next year and debuted in the 2023 FIFA World Cup.

They are placed in group B with Australia, four-time Olympic champions USA and Rio 2016 winners, Germany. Their first match will be against the USA at the Stade de Nice on 25 July, followed by a clash against Australia on 28 July then Germany on 31 July.

Coach Bruce Mwape has in his team the most expensive female football player in history Racheal Kundananji, who moved to Bay FC from Madrid CFF for a transfer fee of $860,000 (R16 012 942.00). Mwape also has Barbra Banda, the current leading African goal scorer in Olympic history with six goals and the first female footballer to score back-to-back hat tricks at the Games. Banda is also currently tied to 12 goals with Malawian and Kansas City striker as a top goal scorer in the NWSL. Banda reached the top only after just 12 games.

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The Copper Queens squad is also dominated with players who play locally in Zambia, mostly from Green Buffalos, then three in the NWSL, namely Kundananji, Banda and Grace Chanda, who is Banda’s teammate at Orlando Pride.