“We Are Grabbing That Cup” Racheal Kundananji Eyes WAFCON Glory as (Copper Queens) Zambia’s Golden Generation Matures
As the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) approaches, Racheal Kundananji is confident. “We are grabbing that cup,” she tells me, breaking into her signature laugh—a confident, defiant tone from one of the stars of Zambia’s golden generation. At just 25, Kundananji is already experienced competing in four countries: Zambia, Kazakhstan, Spain, and now the United States, where she, at the time, made history as the most expensive signing in women’s football when she joined Bay FC for $788,000.
The pressure doesn’t faze her. If anything, she embraces it.
Zambia’s rise in global women’s football has been meteoric. Kundananji, alongside Barbra Banda, Grace Chanda, and Prisca Chilufya, now plays in the world’s most competitive league, the NWSL, fueling expectations for Zambia to contend seriously for the continental crown.
“We still have the same team that broke records,” she says, referencing Zambia’s appearances at the Olympics and the FIFA Women’s World Cup. “There’s no excuse. All we need is to stay together and work as one.”
Kundananji’s journey to this point has been anything but easy. Leaving home at 18, she ventured first to Kazakhstan, where she says she was forced to grow up quickly.
“It prepared me to face any challenge in life. I became more independent, knowing I could live alone, far from my family.”
Spain brought cultural adjustments and language barriers, but also a turning point in her professional career. “When I went to Madrid, everything was supportive. Teammates, coaches, even the system—it made things easier.”
And easy it was, in her breakthrough season for Madrid CFF, scoring 25 goals and providing 3 assists in 29 games played. With already 8 goals in 15 games at the start of the next season Bay FC (then expansion side) swooped in with the record transfer fee.
That growth followed her to the U.S., where she says the transition was smoother thanks to the language and structure of Bay FC. But for all her club success, Kundananji’s eyes are firmly on national glory. The Copper Queens have made strides in their quest for continental glory. The current generation's run started back in 2014 after a historic qualification for the U17 World Cup in Costa Rica. With the addition of a young Kundananji Zambia at the 2018 WAFCON, an exciting Zambia narrowly exited the group stage. In 2022, they clinched bronze! After a last-minute semi-final loss against eventual 2022 WAFCON winners South Africa (Banyana Banyana).
Early this year, Swiss coach Nora Hauptle was appointed to guide them to a first continental win. Despite the new coach, Kundananji believes the chemistry of the team is the key ingredient.
“It doesn’t matter who the coach is. What matters is the connection. She’s been following us for a long time, and now it’s just about adapting to what she brings. As players, we do that all the time.”
In Group A, Zambia will face the hosts and losing finalists of the 2022 WAFCON, Morocco, as well as neighbors DR Congo and a rejuvenated Senegal, making up a favorable draw for the Copper Queens. But as Kundananji reminds us, there are no easy teams!
Facing Morocco—a team Zambia has battled consistently over the years—adds fuel to the fire. “It’s always 50/50 with Morocco. That first group game will be serious—blood and sweat,” she laughs again. “But Zambia, we are fighters. We never give up.”
When asked about Zambians' odds and who she sees as competitors. Kundananji names hosts Morocco, “they are at home. Morocco is not just an ordinary team, and they also want to win the cup. Yes, last year they lost in the final.” But high-key, she is hoping to face Nigeria or South Africa in the finals of WAFCON, as she laughs in excitement.
“We are grabbing that cup. We are grabbing that cup.”
The conversation between Racheal Kundananji and me was held via Zoom a day before the Gotham v Bay FC game on June 21, 2025. Be on the lookout for a longer-form Q&A-style conversation