Footballer Barbra Banda Subject To Racist, Transphobic Abuse
Image: barbrabandaofficial/Instagram
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is investigating “hateful language” directed towards Orlando Pride footballer Barbra Banda from a fan over the weekend.
The incident occurred during Orlando’s match against Gotham FC at the Sports Illustrated Stadium in New York on Sunday.
Gotham said that once the incident had been reported, stadium security “directly addressed” the individual in question, and monitored the situation until the end of the match.
In a statement released on March 24, the club said they were working with the NWSL to investigate the incident, and had apologised to both Orlando and Banda.
“This behavior is unacceptable and has no place in our league or in our stadiums,” Gotham said.
“As a club, we will always work to protect and reinforce the inclusive spirit of our Gotham FC and NWSL community, and we will hold responsible any individuals who violate or infringe upon those efforts and values.”
The sentiments were echoed by the NWSL in their own statement released on the same day.
“We are committed to ensuring that our venues are safe and respectful environments for all – especially for the athletes who represent the very best of our sport. Barbra Banda is both an exceptional player and person, and the NWSL is immensely proud to support her as a member of our league.
“As a league, we remain committed to holding individuals accountable for conduct that violates our standards and values, and to reinforcing the inclusive spirit of the NWSL community.”
On social media, fans criticised the stadium for allowing the abuser to stay until the match was completed, and questioned why they were not ejected immediately. Neither the stadium, nor Gotham FC have addressed these complaints.
Repeat “transvestigations”
This is not the first time Banda has been the subject of transphobic and racist abuse.
Banda, a 25 year old cisgender woman, won BBC’s Women’s Footballer of the Year in 2024 after making significant contributions to international football.
She was the first Zambian woman to play football in Europe when she signed with a Spanish side Logrono in 2018, went on to captain the national at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
However, in 2022, she was excluded from Zambia’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations team after allegedly been found to have high testosterone levels.
Although the specific details of the test were not made public, the Zambian Football Association claimed she had failed a gender-verification test.
FIFA went on to rule her eligible for the World Cup the following year.
Despite this, multiple “gender-critical” commentators accused Banda of being transgender, claiming she was “destroying” women’s sports.
The abuse echoed that made against another cisgender athlete, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
