Zambia’s Racheal Kundananji has become the most expensive player in women’s football after joining Nigerian superstar Asisat Oshoala at Bay FC from Madrid CFF for $860,000 on a four-year deal with the option of a further year.
Kundananji becomes the first African player of any gender to break a world transfer record and surpasses the £400,000 Barcelona paid to Manchester City for Keira Walsh in 2022.
Kundananji joins Asisat Oshoala and Jen Beattie as the newest recruits at Bay FC as they prepare for life as the latest expansion team in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) ahead of the 2024 season.
“We are delighted to add Racheal to our group,” said Bay FC General Manager Lucy Rushton said on the club website.
“She is a tremendous talent with dynamic attacking qualities and an incredible physical profile who has produced for both club and country. Racheal has a composure in-front of goal and a natural ability to score with different types of finishes and from various locations.
“We believe she will continue to grow and develop at our club, showcasing her skillset and adding to the array of exciting attacking talent we have here.”
The Copper Queen @KKundananji has arrived! ????
The Zambian forward joins #BayFC from @MadridCFF.
Read the announcement at: https://t.co/S5koi2QcV6
#WeCameToPlay pic.twitter.com/xqNt4YN7zw— Bay Football Club (@wearebayfc) February 13, 2024
Kundananji began her career with Zambian side Indeni Roses before moving to BIIK Kazygurt in Kazakhstan in 2019 followed a move to Eibar in Spain two years later.
She found the back of the net time eight times in the league for the Basque outfit which was good enough to see her move to Madrid. She scored scored 25 goals in 29 league games to help the Spanish capital outfit to a fifth-placed finish last season and scored eight in 14 league matches in the ongoing campaign.
Kundananji featured with the Zambia women’s national team at their maiden FIFA Women’s World Cup during the 2023 edition in Australia and New Zealand, netting the final goal in their 3-1 Group C win over Costa Rica.
