Orlando Pride sign Zambia's Banda for near-record fee - sources

The National Women's Soccer League's Orlando Pride signed Zambian forward Barbra Banda from Chinese Super League team Shanghai Shengli for a $740,000 transfer fee, sources familiar with the deal confirmed to ESPN.

The fee is the second highest in world soccer history behind Zambian teammate Racheal Kundananji, whose move to NWSL expansion team Bay FC set the global record last month.

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Banda's contract with the Pride is a four-year deal valued at around $2.1 million all-in, including bonuses, sources confirmed, which will make her one of the highest-paid players in the NWSL.

Shanghai will also maintain a sell-on clause to receive a percentage of the fee should Banda, 23, be transferred elsewhere in the future, a source said.

CBS Sports was first to report Banda's move to Orlando.Banda's breakout came at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She scored hat tricks in back-to-back group games, becoming the first woman in Olympic history to score successive hat tricks and to score two hat tricks in the same tournament. Zambia struggled at the tournament, losing those games 10-3 to the Netherlands and drawing China 4-4, but Banda's talent drew global attention.

A year later, Banda was the subject of controversy after she and three other players were banned from Africa's championship and World Cup qualifying event for what CAF officials claimed were testosterone levels above the confederation's permitted limit. However, Banda was allowed to participate at the 2023 World Cup by FIFA, which announced it would revise its rules after a process that was widely criticized.

At the tournament, Banda scored the 1,000th goal in Women's World Cup history from the penalty spot in Zambia's 3-1 victory over Costa Rica.