Barbra Banda has added another personal accolade to her sea of awards after she walked away with the Diamond TV Personality of the Year Award (POTYA) in the sportswomen’s category.
From becoming the second most expensive footballer in the women’s game to scoring another hat-trick at the Olympic Games to making it in the top 12 of the Ballon Do’r, 2024 has been a good year for Banda.
The 24-year-old joined Orlando Pride from Shanghai RCB and hit the ground running, going on to score 13 matches in 22 league games. At the national team, she has nine goals in as many games in all competitions this year.
She scored a hat-trick in Zambia’s 6 – 5 loss to Australia at the Olympic Games.
The POTYAs are earning themselves a reputation of being a prestigious award in the Zambia landscape; thus, it is not a surprise that Banda counts it among her big achievements this year.
Despite her achievement, she faced tough competition, as some commentators may argue that those who were nominated with her were worthy winners.
Copper Queens teammate Racheal Kundananji and fellow Olympians Mia Phiri and Margret Tembo were in the running for the award.
It is against such tough opposition that Banda thrives, and it is no surprise that she took home the award, which was collected on her behalf by blogger Aaron Mubanga.
Banda Favourite to Win 2024 CAF POTY
The 2024 CAF Female Footballer of the Year Award, which will take place in Morocco on December 16th, has Banda as a serious contender.
At the 2024 Paris Games, the Orlando Pride striker, who earlier this year became the first player in Olympic history to score hat-tricks in back-to-back games against the Netherlands and the Republic of China in 2021, added another three goals to her resume, this time in an 11-goal victory over Australia that ended 6-5.
After that historic hat-trick, Banda was in a strong position to win this year’s CAF award because she became the first player in the history of women’s football to score three hat-tricks at the Olympics.
She currently has nine Olympic goals, five fewer than Cristiane’s record.
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