Zambia women national team star Barbra Banda was excluded from the 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations competition in Morocco for “health issues” but the true reason for the Copper Queens forward’s withdrawal for the squad has been revealed. Rumors and media reports indicated that Banda was kept out for having a level of testosterone that was too high and the ruling was confirmed by Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Andrew Kamanga.
Kamanga stated that Banda did not meet the requirements set by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) when all players underwent a gender verification test before the competition. The FAZ and Kamanga have expressed their irritation at the fact that Banda was allowed to take part at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo under the verification of FIFA but has been declared ineligible by CAF. Banda took medication to reduce her testosterone levels but was declared ineligible along with three other players on the Zambian team, who withdrew themselves from the squad.
BBC Sport Africa’s Celestine Karoney has more on the issue of gender verification and Banda’s case in the link below.
