With only 86 days until the 2024 Paris Olympics women’s football event begins, FIFA President Gianna Infantino has taken to social media to wish the qualified teams the best.
Among the teams he has messaged thus far are Zambia’s Copper Queens, whose football association is currently embroiled in political conflicts with some of its stakeholders in the country, prompting FIFA to issue a warning of a possible suspension for third-party interference in the running of the game.
In his message, Infantino encouraged the Copper Queens to write more history in Paris.
“Having scored the 1,000th goal in FIFA Women’s World Cup history at last year’s edition of the competition, I am looking forward to Zambia creating more historic moments during the women’s football tournament at the Olympic Games in Paris!” he wrote on his official Instagram page last Saturday.
Zambia’s Olympics return
The Zambia women’s team was the continent’s only representative at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and they finished bottom of their group after losing 10-3 to the Netherlands, 1-0 to Brazil, and drawing 4-4 with China.
Despite their underwhelming performance, the team’s captain, Barbra Banda, created Olympic history as the only player to score two hat tricks in a single campaign against the Netherlands and China.
The Orlando Pride striker also set the record for the most goals [6] scored in a FIFA-organized tournament by an African woman.
READ MORE: 10 Records Barbra Banda Broke, Set, and Equaled at 2020 Olympics
“The last time we went there, we came [out] in the first round but this time we are aiming for the second round,” Banda said.
The Copper Queens, who also participated in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time, where Banda scored the tournament’s 1000th goal against Costa Rica, finished third in the group C behind Japan and eventual winners Spain.
They advanced to this year’s Olympics after defeating Morocco 3-2 on aggregate.
| Group A | Group B | Group C |
| France | USWNT | Spain |
| Colombia | Germany | Japan |
| Canada | Australia | Brazil, |
| New Zealand | Zambia | Nigeria |
The Copper Queens have since been placed in Group B with Germany, the United States, and Australia.
The women’s tournament will begin on Thursday, July 25, 2024, with Zambia facing the United States.
