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Racheal Kundananji

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Racheal Kundananji
Kundananji with Bay FC in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-06-03) 3 June 2000 (age 24)[1]
Place of birth Zambia
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Forward, midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Bay FC
Number 9
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018 Indeni Roses 18 (21)
2019–2021 BIIK Kazygurt 10 (8)
2021–2022 Eibar 21 (8)
2022–2024 Madrid CFF 43 (33)
2024– Bay FC 12 (2)
International career‡
2018– Zambia 14 (7)
2020– Zambia Olympic 4 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 July 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 July 2024

Racheal Kundananji (born 3 June 2000) is a Zambian professional footballer who plays as a forward for National Women's Soccer League club Bay FC and the Zambia national team.

Club career

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Kundananji's first team was the Konkola Queens, a Chililabombwe-based club owned by a local mining company. She worked as a welder while playing for the team.[2]

Indeni Roses, 2018

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Kundananji played for Indeni Roses in Zambia's Copperbelt Women League. She scored 21 goals in the 18 games she played helping the team win the league championship.[3]

BIIK Kazygurt, 2019–2021

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In 2019 at age 18, Kundananji signed her first professional contract abroad with BIIK Kazygurt in Kazakhstan[4][3] and helped the team win back-to-back league championships in 2019 and 2020.[5]

Eibar, 2022

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Kundananji signed with SD Eibar in the top-tier Spanish league Primera Iberdrola for the 2021–22 season. In April, she scored her first brace in the league during a 3–2 loss to Tenerife.[6] Kundananji scored 8 goals in 21 appearances for the club.[5]

Madrid CFF, 2022–2024

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External videos
video icon Kundananji's 25 goals for Madrid during the 2022–23 Liga F season retrieved 12 July 2023

In August 2022, Kundananji signed with Madrid CFF.[4] In November, she scored a brace against Real Sociedad. Kundananji was named Madrid's Player of the Month in April 2023 after scoring a hat-trick against Alhama CF, a goal against Valencia CF, and a brace in the 2–1 upset against FC Barcelona.[7] In May 2023, she scored a brace against Deportivo Alavés Gloriosas to lift Madrid to a 5–1 win.[8] Kundananji scored 25 goals during the season, ranked second in the league behind only Alba Redondo with 27.[7][5] Madrid finished the season in fifth place.[5]

Bay FC, 2024–

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On 13 February 2024, it was announced that Kundananji had signed with Bay FC for a women's world record transfer fee of £625,000. The deal lasts until 2027, with the option to extend another year.[9] Kundananji made her Bay FC debut as a substitute in the 62nd minute on 30 March 2024, in the team's home debut against the Houston Dash. She scored her first goal for the club in the same match, an equalizer in the 93rd minute of an eventual loss. She was the first Zambian to play in an NWSL match as well as the first to score a goal in NWSL.[10]

International career

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Kundananji with Zambia in 2023

Kundananji represented Zambia at the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations, the qualifying tournament for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[11] She scored three goals at the tournament, including a brace against Equatorial Guinea.[5]

In 2020, Kundananji competed at the CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament and helped the team secure their first-ever berth to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan after winning the tournament.[5] Named to Zambia's roster for the Olympics (delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic),[12] Kundananji scored a goal and provided an assist on Zambia's third goal against China in a thrilling 4–4 draw.[13] Though the team did not advance out of group stage during their first Olympic tournament, Zambian president Edgar Lungu said he was proud of the team: "One word that describes their performance today [Tuesday] is resilience. Despite the red card and a nasty injury to our goalkeeper, the girls remained resilient against a strong opponent. You are the quintessence of hard work, which is the true Zambian spirit."[14]

On 6 July 2022, Kundananji, and three other teammates, including striker Barbra Banda, were ruled ineligible to compete for Zambia in the World Cup-qualifying tournament, Africa Cup of Nations, after a gender verification test found that their natural testosterone levels were above those allowed by the Confederation of African Football, which had stricter gender verification rules than the Olympics.[15] The ruling sparked significant controversy, with Human Rights Watch describing it as a "clear violation" of human rights.[16]

External videos
video icon Kundananji's goal against Germany in 2–3 upset retrieved 12 July 2023

On 1 July 2023, Kundananji scored a goal and provided an assist in Zambia's 3–3 draw against #20 FIFA-ranked Switzerland.[17] Two days later she was named to Zambia's squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.[18] A few days later, she scored a goal against Germany in a 3–2 upset win against the two-time World Cup champions.[19]

Career statistics

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Scores and results list Zambia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kundananji goal.
List of international goals scored by Racheal Kundananji
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 3 November 2018 Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia  Ghana 1–2 3–2 Friendly
2 2–2
3 3–2
4 18 November 2018 Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Cape Coast, Ghana  Equatorial Guinea 3–0 5–0 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations
5 5–0
6 24 November 2018 Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana  South Africa 1–1 1–1 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations
7 28 August 2019 Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia  Zimbabwe 5–0 5–0 2020 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
8 8 November 2019 Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Kenya  Kenya 2–2 2–2 2020 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
9 24 July 2021 Miyagi Stadium, Rifu, Japan  China 1–1 4–4 2020 Summer Olympics
10 26 October 2021 Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia  Malawi 1–1 3–2 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification
11 2–1
12 22 June 2023 Tallaght Stadium, Dublin, Ireland  Republic of Ireland 2–3 2–3 Friendly
13 30 June 2023 Tissot Arena, Biel/Bienne, Switzerland  Switzerland 3–1 3–3 Friendly
14 7 July 2023 Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer, Fürth, Germany  Germany 2–0 3–2 Friendly
15 31 July 2023 Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand  Costa Rica 3–1 3–1 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
16 26 September 2023 Moulay Hassan Stadium, Rabat, Morocco  Morocco 1–0 6–2 Friendly
17 2–1
18 6–2
19 29 November 2023 Estádio 22 de Junho, Luanda, Angola  Angola 6–0 6–0 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification
20 5 December 2023 Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia  Angola 1–0 6–0 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification
21 6–0
22 23 February 2024 Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana  Ghana 1–0 1–0 2024 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
23 28 July 2024 Stade de Nice, Nice, France  Australia 2–1 5–6 2024 Summer Olympics
24 5–2

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Player Details". CAF. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  2. ^ Eligon, John (24 July 2024). "Most Valuable Player: A Star Raises the Profile of Women's Soccer in Africa". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b Ahmadu, Samuel (18 February 2019). "Zambia's Racheal Kundananji joins Kazakhstan queens BIIK Kazygurt from Indeni Roses". Goal.com. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Rachel Kundananji signs for Madrid CFF". Footbalada. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Zambia – R. Kundananji – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway".
  6. ^ "African women abroad: Racheal Kundananji notches her first brace". CAF Football. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Kundananji named Madrid Player of the Month". Zambian Football. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Kundananji nets brace in Madrid CFF big win". Zambian Football. 5 March 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  9. ^ "WOMEN'S RECORD TRANSFER FEE SMASHED BY BAY FC". onefootball.com. 13 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  10. ^ Ingemi, Marisa (30 March 2024). "Kundananji's heroics not enough for Bay FC in stoppage time defeat to Dash". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Team Lists" (PDF). CAF. p. 8. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020". FIFA. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Olympics 2020: Zambia's Barbra Banda nets second hat trick, China's Wang Shuang hits four in epic draw". ESPN. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  14. ^ "Olympics football: Zambia will be a force to be reckoned with in Africa – Kundananji". Goal.com. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  15. ^ Dove, Ed (6 July 2022). "Zambia FA critical of 'stringent' Barbra Banda hormone tests". ESPN. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Zambian Woman Footballer Sex Tested Because FIFA Allows It". Hrw.org. 13 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Kundananji stars for Zambia women in six-goal friendly thriller". Afrosportsnow.com. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Women's World Cup 2023 team guides part 12: Zambia". The Guardian. 9 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  19. ^ "Zambia stun Germany with late goal in FIFA Women's World Cup warm-up". Stuff. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
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