Chilufya, 24, who left Zambian club Red Arrows FC in February to join Fatih Karagumruk A.S. in the Turkish Women’s Football Super League, has spoken out about her dress code.
Towards the end of 2022, she returned to Arrows from Kazakstan side, FC Tomiris-Turan after her contract expired.
Before leaving Tomiris, Chilufya scored a double hat-trick (6 goals) in a single match and also provided two assists in the exact match when they thrashed Sdyusshor 10-0 in the Kazakstan Women’s League.
Chilufya’s outstanding performance at her new club in Turkey has earned her a place in the provisional squad for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.
Many fans on social media, however, have been condemning her and the other women’s national team players for dressing like men.
In response, Chilufya says dressing like a man is what makes her feel comfortable.
“I can’t speak for everyone, but I will speak for myself; I dress to feel comfortable,” she said on BolaNews’ EVERYTHING BOLA live podcast.
She added: “With the training and the things we do, our bodies tend to change, and sometimes there are certain clothes that we can’t wear because we can’t just feel comfortable.”
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Chilufya went on to say that people still question her when she wears female clothing because they mistake her for a man.
“It’s the same thing; if I am putting on a dress, I will get the opposite comments again, like people saying, I am a male wearing female clothes, but when I am like this [in male clothing], nobody will even notice that this one is like this or that.
“It’s not that we want to be male, thats just how we feel comfortable,” she concluded.
