Banda joined Djurgårdens in 2020 from Belgium top flight side KV Ostend and his contract with the Swedish club expired on December 31, 2022.
He spent three seasons in Sweden, where he made 75 appearances, scored 12 goals, and provided seven assists, including two goals and an assist in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
His lack of playing time at Djurgårdens was primarily due to injuries, as he spent the majority of his time at the club recovering.
After his contract expired in the latter part of last year, Banda and the club could not reach an agreement for an extension, making the Zambian a free agent on the market.
Djurgårdens sports director Bosse Andersson told Sportbladet last week that they had initially offered Banda a contract, but it looked unlikely that he was going to stay at the club.
“We had a discussion with Banda and offered him a contract, but it is extremely doubtful that he will play for us. He has had a look around and we have looked around. We have to run a football club and act and we feel that we have very good options in both the short and long term,” he said.
Another Swedish club, IFK Norrköping, was reportedly interested in signing Banda, but the 2017 under-20 Africa Cup of Nations winner chose to move to Croatia for a new challenge and signed with Rijeka as a free agent.
Banda had one of his best campaigns at Djurgårdens last year, having scored seven goals and five assists in 39 appearances for the club across all competitions.
He also scored against his new club, Rejika, in the Conference League, and they will be hoping he can help them avoid relegation in the Croatian League, where they currently sit third from the bottom with 15 points in 17 games.
Rijeka have won the Croatian First League once in the 2016–17 season and have finished as runners-up seven times.
They have also competed in European competitions on a regular basis, including the UEFA Champions League in 2017-18, the UEFA Europe League in 2020-21, and, most recently, the UEFA Europa League in 2022-23.
Banda, who has previously played for Esmoriz in Portugal, Oostende in Belgium, Beziers in France, and most recently Djurgrdens, will now start a new chapter in Croatia.
