Zambian soccer star Barbra Banda ineligible over ‘gender verification’

Zambian soccer forward Barbra Banda has been ruled ineligible for this summer’s African Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) due “gender verification” tests, according to Zambian soccer authorities.

“All the players had to undergo gender verification, a Caf requirement, and unfortunately she did not meet the criteria set by CAF [Confederation of African Football], ” Andrew Kamanga, the president of Zambia’s Football Association (FAZ), told BBC Sport Africa. “It’s unfortunate that we find ourselves going into the tournament without our best players.”

Though allowed to play in last year’s Olympics, Banda — who is the 22-year-old captain of the Zambia women’s national team — was one of four players excluded from the nation’s final AWCON roster after refusing to undergo hormone suppression treatment. Her testosterone levels were said to be above the Confederation of African Football’s limit for the tournament, ESPN reported. 

Sydney Mungala, the FAZ’s communications director, said the Zambian federation was made aware that Banda’s testosterone levels were outside CAF’s guidelines, and that a course of hormone suppression was offered to Banda and the other Zambian players.

“Our medics engaged the players and they weren’t willing to go through with it — I think there are possible side effects,” Mungala said. “With the players not going down that route and taking up that option, the final decision was that they could not be included in the final list for the competition.”

The FAZ is said to be working towards a long-term goal amid what they believe to be “stringent” testosterone testing.

“Our FA president [Kamanga] is in Morocco and has been pursuing this matter with his colleagues in CAF,” Mungala said. “I think the CAF regulations are a lot more stringent [than Olympic regulations], and they put too much stress on testosterone levels.”

Mungala said FAZ’s efforts are now “directed towards changing this regulation in the long-term, but not necessarily for this competition. The opportunity [for 2022] has been lost now.”

Banda missed Zambia’s women’s opener on Sunday due to “medical reasons,” Zambia’s soccer federation had stated.

In 2011, FIFA released “gender verification” regulations that required soccer federations to “actively investigate any perceived deviation in secondary sex characteristics.”

Banda has not yet addressed the situation as of Wednesday afternoon.

Banda had a breakout performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics last summer when she became the first soccer player — male or female — to score back-to-back hat-tricks at the Games. She is also the first-ever female professional footballer in her native Zambia, according to Olympics.com.

Banda recorded a total of 18 goals in her first season with Chinese club Shanghai Shengli, which also include three hat-tricks. She joined Shengli following a successful year with Spain’s EDF Logroño, in which she scored 16 goals in 28 matches.

Banda is rumored to be “on the way” to Real Madrid, Olympics.com previously reported.