American clubs, Orlando Pride and Gotham have condemned in the strongest possible term the vile offensive chants against Zambia international Barbara Banda on Sunday.
The captain of the Zambian women national team, who made a significant move to Orlando Pride last summer was subjected to offensive chants in his outfit away clash against Gotham in the 2025 American Women’s Professional League season.
Banda delivered an outstanding performance to help his side secured an important 2-0 away win over Gotham but was subjected to unprinted words by the home fans.
Responding to the incident, Orlando Pride slammed the behavior of the home team fans, saying such act is unacceptable and has no place in their game.
“The club has been informed of the incident of Barbara Banda being insulted during the team’s match against Gotham. This behavior is unacceptable and has no place in our league or our stadiums.”
“Barbara is an outstanding role model and an influential advocate for soccer in Africa and the United States. We look forward to continuing to celebrate and support her on and off the field.
“Orlando Pride confirmed: “We will work with the WNBA and Gotham FC to ensure appropriate action is taken to hold individuals accountable when league standards are violated.”
Meanwhile, Gotham have swiftly condemned fan’s behavior while promising to take actions against culprits.
“The club is aware of an incident involving hateful language directed at Barbara Banda during our match against Orlando Pride. Stadium security responded to the incident immediately after it was reported, directly addressed the individual involved, and monitored the situation through the end of the match.”
“Gotham FC is cooperating with the WNBA to further investigate the incident and take additional action as appropriate under the WNBA’s Fan Code of Conduct.”
“Our club officials have reached out to Orlando Pride to apologize for the incident and reiterate our unwavering support for Barbara Banda,” Gotham confirmed.
“As a club, we will always work to protect and promote a spirit of respect, and we will hold accountable any individual who violates or infringes upon these efforts and values.”
Orlando Pride signed 25-year-old Zambian women’s national team captain Barbara Banda in the winter of 2024 from Shanghai Shenhua for $740,000.
The Zambian star is ranked as the third most expensive transfer in women’s soccer worldwide, behind compatriot striker Rachel Kundananji, who moved from Madrid CFF to Bay FC in the United States for $862,000, and American defender Naomi Girma, who moved from San Diego Wave to Chelsea in the United States for $1.1 million.
