Commander Zambia Army, Lieutenant General Sitali Dennis Alibuzwi has promoted Copper Queens Captain and Orlando Pride Striker Barbara Banda to the rank of Staff Sergeant following her resilient and leadership role she exhibited in the Morocco vs Zambia Olympic 2024 Qualifiers.
Banda scored twice to send the Copper Queens to the Women’s Football tournament to be held in Paris as Green Buffaloes Women’s Football Club Go Minder- Ngambo Musole made superb saves to prevent the Atlas Lionessess to find the back of the net.
Lt Gen Alibuzwi says all the promotion procedures will be followed in awarding Barbara her next rank.
The Commander Zambia Army has since congratulated the Copper Queens for putting up a spirited fight to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 aggregate triumph following their 2-0 win at Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat.
Lt Gen Alibuzwi has, narrowed his congratulatory message to Sergeant Banda for the significant performance and the tenacity she showed on the pitch and ultimately scoring the two crutial goals.
Sergeant Banda opened the scoring for the Copper Queens six minutes before half time and secured the ticket for the Copper Queens to Paris after scoring from the spot in the 105th minute.
With the scores tied 2-2 on goal aggregate, Zambia had GBWFC first choice goalkeeper, Musole to thank as she made world class saves, including one on the goal line.
The commander has since promoted Musole to her next rank including other players from Green Buffaloes that featured in the match.
Zambia and Nigeria will be Africa’s representatives at the tournament, and the Copper Queens will be in Group B alongside USA, Germany and Australia.
