Zambia women’s national star and captain Barbra Banda has declared that the Copper Queens will not be mere participants but real competitors at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The US-based Orlando Pride superstar will lead the country’s women’s national team to its second appearance at the Olympic Games in Paris where they will face three of the best sides in the world in the USA, Australia, and Germany in Group B.
Speaking in an interview with FIFA, Banda admitted that the Copper Queens face a stern test in Group B but were ready to fight for a place amongst the best-performing teams at the games.
“To be honest, it is a tough group, looking at the record that the USA, Germany, and Australia have. They’ve been there before, they’ve played a lot of games at that level. For us, it’s just the second time [at the Olympics]. Yes, it is a tough group, but I believe that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.”
“We are not just going there to participate, we are going there to compete. We are going to try and do our best. We need to do more than what we did last time [at Tokyo 2020],” Banda said.
Banda also declared her side ready for the tournament after wrapping up their preparations for the tournament with a 1-all draw against New Zealand last Saturday.
“The friendly against New Zealand [a 1-1 draw on 13 July] was a good chance for us to assess the team. It wasn’t a bad result and I think the team is in good shape and everyone is ready for the Olympics” she said.
Banda made history four years ago at the Summer Games in Tokyo when she became the first woman to score back-to-back hat-tricks in Olympics football. She scored three times against China and the Netherlands.
She recalled the memorable experience gained in Tokyo, despite the COVID-19 imposed challenges in the lead-up to the tournament, and is eyeing breaking and setting new records in Paris.
“We couldn’t explore that much because of COVID so it was difficult but, when it comes to the games, the experience was awesome. It’s something that I will always remember. About my scoring…teamwork helped me score all those goals. Those two hat-tricks are all about the team. I was never going to do that on my own.”
She continued: “But I don’t want to look at the past. I want to look forward and focus maybe on creating other records. You know, football is a game of chances. So, if I have the opportunity to have another record, then I definitely have to utilize that opportunity wisely. I’m so excited and happy to be at my second Olympics. It’s every person’s dream to play at that level. To represent my country makes me happy.”
The Copper Queens play their first Group B match at the Olympics against the USA on Thursday night at the Allianz Rivera in Nice, France.