Get to know Barbra Banda's early life, net worth and salary! In this article, you will also learn Barbra Banda's club and international career, honours, foundation, boyfriend, international records and so much more.
Barbra Banda has a charming and optimistic personality. It helps her to communicate with people and her teammates easily, and it brings out the best in her.
We don't know much about her childhood and siblings to be fair, but you will get to know a few things about her early life as Barbra looked to have had a happy family despite her background.
Barbra Banda biography
Barbra Banda was born on 20 March 2000 in Lusaka, Zambia. She is a Zambian footballer who plays as a forward for Chinese club Shanghai Shengli and the Zambia women’s national team, the Copper Queens.
She represented Zambia at the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. She made her senior debut for the Copper Queens in 2016.
Barbra Banda is one of the most popular and richest football players in Zambia, and she has some quite good records to her name. Read on…
Barbra Banda early life and family
Barbra Banda was born in Lusaka, Zambia on 20 March 2000. She began playing football around the age of seven playing on the streets.
She was inspired by her father who played football and would encourage her to practice. She played with boys as the academy she attended did not have a girls team.
After her parents became concerned that her focus on the sport was interfering with her school, they became restrictive. Barbra said “she would sometimes sneak out and throw her boots out the window, then go out the door, and they'd think maybe she's just going outside, and then I'd go round to get them.”
Her passion for football at a young age fuelled her into having a successful career in the sports today.
Barbra Banda education
On her Facebook account, she has mentioned that she went to the Nyumba Yanga Secondary School. However, Barbra has not revealed the name of any University or higher educational institutes.
For one, many professional football players focus on their sporting careers after secondary school. To this effect, we cannot confirm more of her educational details until Barbra talks about them.
Barbra Banda career and honours
Club career
Barbra signed with Spanish first division club EDF Logroño in October 2018 to become the first Zambian female footballer to play in Europe. She scored 16 goals in 28 matches with the club before moving to China.
In January 2020, Banda signed with Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shengli. She scored in the 23rd minute of her debut for the club on August 23.
Barbra Banda has gone on to score 18 goals in 13 league matches to emerge as the 2020 Chinese Women's Super League Golden Boot winner for most goals scored in the league.
She's currently at this club in 2023.
A brace and two assists
A great win for the team.
We are Shanghai Shengli.
We keep fighting. #BB11 pic.twitter.com/pNIXb7eh6M
— Barbra Banda (@BarbraBanda11) April 18, 2023
International career
Barbra Banda joined the Zambian national team in 2014, during her early teenage years. She represented her country at the U-17 FIFA World Cup when she was a teenager, turning 14 during the tournament.
Barbra made her debut for the Copper Queens in 2016. She has gone on to captain the Zambian squad at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, the first time Zambia competed at the international tournament.
During the team's first group stage match, Barbra scored a hat trick against the Netherlands. The match ended 3–10, and it was the worst ever loss for the Zambia women's national football team and the highest-scoring women's football match in Olympics history.
In their second group stage match, Banda scored another hat trick against China in a 4-4 thrilling draw. And she became the first woman footballer in Olympic history to score back-to-back hat tricks and the first to score two hat tricks in one tournament.
21-year-old Barbra Banda has scored back-to-back hat-tricks in Zambia's first-ever matches at the Olympic Games 🇿🇲
No other women's player has EVER scored two hat-tricks at one Olympics 👏 pic.twitter.com/MVv4gdkq5T
— GOAL (@goal) July 24, 2021
That feat propelled her to be Africa's all-time top scorer in Olympic history.
In September 2022, Banda led Zambia to win their first 2022 COSAFA Women's Cup, the top women's international football tournament for national teams from the region of Southern Africa. She scored ten goals to clinch the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament.
And in June 2023, Banda was named to the Zambian squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, after being ruled eligible to compete by FIFA in December of 2022.
In a World Cup preparatory game on July 7 2023, she scored twice including the game-winner in the 12th minute of injury time, agai awwnst second FIFA-ranked Germany (meanwhile Zambia ranked 77th) to earn a 3-2 shocking win that sent shock waves in the football world.
Barbra Banda honours
- Chinese Women's Super League Top scorer in 2020
- Firstwoman footballer in Olympic history to score back-to-back hat tricks and the first to score two hat tricks in one tournament in 2020 Tokyo Olympics
- Africa'sall-time top scorer in Olympic history.
- COSAFAWomen's Cup Top Scorer in 2022
Barbra Banda boyfriend
Sources in the public domain say that Barbra Banda is a single woman. She does not have a boyfriend that the public is aware of because she has chosen to give everything to her football career and avoid public attention.
She has always kept her dating life private. Her fans can only hope she finds the right person, but there is no guarantee she will talk about her love interest publicly.
Barbra Banda net worth
Barbra is one of the richest footballers from Zambia. According to our research and analysis from available information, Barbra Banda's net worth in 2023 is US $5 million.
Barbra Banda salary
Barbra has not revealed her exact salary to the public but her contract with Shanghai Shengli earns her up to US $1 million annual salary.
However, Barbra has recently begun interacting with her fans on social media accounts. With her growing popularity, she should land herself some sponsorship deals from sporting brands, increasing her salary and net worth.
Barbra Banda foundation
In 2021, Barbra launched the ‘Barbra Banda Foundation' which aims to support programs that promote empowerment for women and girls on issues of economic inequality, gender-based violence, lack of access to equal opportunities, teenage pregnancies, and early marriages using the power of sport.
The Barbra Banda Foundation is a non-governmental organization founded by @Copper_Queens skipper Barbra Banda with the view of raising funds to help Women in Sport reach their full potential, help alleviate poverty through sport, and fight things like gender-based violence, pic.twitter.com/q0vqW4SbVQ
— Barbra Banda Foundation (@BarbraBandaFou1) July 26, 2021
The foundation co-hosts an annual football tournament to promote football in Zambia.
About the foundation, Barbra said, “Like many, I did not come from a place of abundance and hence I understand what it means to need help and no one willing to help you. I have also experienced how much easier life gets when you have people ready to help you on your path to success.”
Barbra Banda joined the ‘Common Goal' in 2019, a collective fund that supports football charities around the world. She pledged 1% of her salary to this charity course.
Barbra Banda social media
Barbra is active on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. She has 7200+ followers on Twitter, 12500 followers on Instagram, and 485k followers on Facebook.
The cherished Zambian footballer posts her pictures and foundation information to her fans through these platforms.
You can follow her:
Twitter handle: @BarbraBanda11
Instagram: @barbrabandaofficial
Facebook: Barbra Banda
Preparation is an important step to every successful story. #BB11 #WeareCopperQueens pic.twitter.com/06xlDIkpjI
— Barbra Banda (@BarbraBanda11) July 18, 2023
Barbra Banda Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Barbra Banda?
Born on March 20 2000, Barbra is 23 years old
Is Barbra Banda the first female footballer to score two hat tricks in the Olympics?
Yes. Barbra scored consecutive hat tricks in the 2022 Tokyo Olympics to set the record
Which African footballer holds the record for most goals in Olympics?
Cooper Queens player, Barbra Banda
Is Barbra Banda the best female footballer in Zambia
At the time of writing in 2023, Barbra is the captain of the Copper Queens, and yes, she's the best female footballer in Zambia
Which club does Barbra Banda play for in 2023?
She plays for Shanghai Shengli, a Chinese Super League club
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago
