Barbra Banda: Zambia’s football star on the rise with AWCON tournament set to begin 

Prior to last year’s OIympic Games Tokyo 2020 few people were talking about Zambian football star Barbra Banda. But after a stunning Olympic campaign in which she became the first footballer - male or female - to score back-to-back hattricks at the Games, Banda’s name was on everyone’s lips.

Now a year later, as the 22-year-old looks to fire her nation to glory at the African Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON), much is expected of the young prolific attacker who is rumoured to be on the way to Real Madrid.

A rising star with confidence to burn

Even before the last Olympic Games, Banda was convinced she would be a star.

“I want to leave a mark, my own name, my own record book,” she said in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com prior to the Games.

In Zambia, she had already achieved something nobody had done before by becoming the first-ever female professional footballer.

She also reportedly became the third most expensive female footballer of all time when she moved to Chinese side Shanghai Shengli for a fee of U.S. $300,000 following a successful year with Spain’s EDF Logroño where she scored 16 goals in 28 matches.

A stunning 18 goals followed in her first season in Shanghai, including three hat-tricks.

Perhaps the world should have been more prepared for what happened when she made her Olympic debut.

Writing a new chapter in her nation’s history

It’s difficult to lose a football match 10-3 and come out with your reputation enhanced, yet that is exactly what happened when Banda faced European powerhouses the Netherlands in their Tokyo 2020 tournament opener.

As the Dutch ran riot, Banda was in a game of her own, scoring three times including two goals in a dizzying two-minute spell.

More history-making was to follow in the next match of the tournament. In a 4-4 draw with People’s Republic of China, Banda once again proved she was a class above the rest, firing in a second hattrick in as many games to equal the then-record for goals in a single Olympic Games set by Canadian legend Christine Sinclair back at London 2012.

She also became the highest-scoring African player - male or female - at a single Olympic Games.

And if you thought Banda was resting on her laurels after her stunning 270-minutes of action at Tokyo 2020, think again.

“I am aiming to become the best footballer in the world,” Banda told FIFA.com after the match against China.

Cristiano Ronaldo: Following in her idol’s footsteps

Even before the Olympics, Banda was eager to emulate a player who will go down in history as one of the best ever: Portugal’s five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

“I like the way Cristiano Ronaldo plays,” she told Olympics.com. “I like his discipline. I have the same strength. I run a lot and do the dribbles. I can do something where you did not expect anything, and you just be like... 'Okay, Banda just did that!'"

And if rumours are true, the Zambian star may just follow in his footsteps sooner rather than later.

In mid-June, Spanish newspaper Marca reported that Banda will join European giants Real Madrid in early July.

It would mark a stunning rise for the player, but with the determination and drive she has shown it may not come as such a surprise to the footballer herself.

“I have the confidence and courage because I know football the way it is,” she said. “The one who wants it the most is the one who is going to get it.”

Can she fire her nation to AWCON glory?

Before any moves to European powerhouses transpire, Banda will be hoping to lead her country to AWCON glory, starting with a first fixture against Cameroon on Sunday 3 July.

Zambia have suffered at the last two AWCON tournaments, being eliminated in the group stage in 2014 and 2018.

However with Banda on their side - and after an Olympic experience that caught the world’s attention - they enter this year’s tournament with more confidence.

While Banda will shoulder much of the hopes of her nation, they also have other talented footballers in their ranks including 22-year-old Racheal Kundananji who plies her trade as a forward at Spanish top-flight team SD Eibar.

Fixtures against Togo and Tunisia await in Group B but if Banda and her teammates can navigate their way through, no defence will be eager to come up against the rising star of international football who wowed the world at Tokyo 2020.