| Racheal Kundananji | |
| Birth Date: | 3 June 2000[1] |
| Birth Place: | Zambia |
| Height: | 1.70 m |
| Position: | Forward, midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Bay FC |
| Clubnumber: | 9 |
| Years1: | 2018 |
| Clubs1: | Indeni Roses |
| Caps1: | 18 |
| Goals1: | 21 |
| Years2: | 2019–2021 |
| Clubs2: | BIIK Kazygurt |
| Caps2: | 10 |
| Goals2: | 8 |
| Years3: | 2021–2022 |
| Clubs3: | Eibar |
| Caps3: | 21 |
| Goals3: | 8 |
| Years4: | 2022–2024 |
| Clubs4: | Madrid CFF |
| Caps4: | 43 |
| Goals4: | 33 |
| Years5: | 2024– |
| Clubs5: | Bay FC |
| Caps5: | 12 |
| Goals5: | 2 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2018– |
| Nationalteam1: | Zambia |
| Nationalcaps1: | 14 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 7 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2020– |
| Nationalteam2: | Zambia Olympic |
| Nationalcaps2: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 3 |
| Club-Update: | 6 July 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 29 July 2024 |
Racheal Kundananji (born 3 June 2000) is a Zambian professional footballer who plays as a forward for National Women's Soccer League club Bay FC and the Zambia women's national team.
Kundananji's first team was the Konkola Queens, a Chililabombwe-based club owned by a local mining company. She worked as a welder while playing for the team.[2]
Kundananji played for Indeni Roses in Zambia's Copperbelt Women League. She scored 21 goals in the 18 games she played helping the team win the league championship.[3]
In 2019 at age 18, Kundananji signed her first professional contract abroad with BIIK Kazygurt in Kazakhstan[3] and helped the team win back-to-back league championships in 2019 and 2020.
Kundananji signed with SD Eibar in the top-tier Spanish league Primera Iberdrola for the 2021–22 season. In April, she scored her first brace in the league during a 3–2 loss to Tenerife.[4] Kundananji scored 8 goals in 21 appearances for the club.[5]
In August 2022, Kundananji signed with Madrid CFF.[6] In November, she scored a brace against Real Sociedad. Kundananji was named Madrid's Player of the Month in April 2023 after scoring a hat-trick against Alhama CF, a goal against Valencia CF, and a brace in the 2–1 upset against FC Barcelona.[7] In May 2023, she scored a brace against Deportivo Alavés Gloriosas to lift Madrid to a 5–1 win.[8] Kundananji scored 25 goals during the season, ranked second in the league behind only Alba Redondo with 27.[7] Madrid finished the season in fifth place.
On 13 February 2024, it was announced that Kundananji had signed with Bay FC for a women's world record transfer fee of £625,000. The deal lasts until 2027, with the option to extend another year.[9] Kundananji made her Bay FC debut as a substitute in the 62nd minute on 30 March 2024, in the team's home debut against the Houston Dash. She scored her first goal for the club in the same match, an equalizer in the 93rd minute of an eventual loss. She was the first Zambian to play in an NWSL match as well as the first to score a goal in NWSL.[10]
Kundananji represented Zambia at the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations, the qualifying tournament for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[11] She scored three goals at the tournament, including a brace against Equatorial Guinea.
In 2020, Kundananji competed at the CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament and helped the team secure their first-ever berth to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan after winning the tournament. Named to Zambia's roster for the Olympics (delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic),[12] Kundananji scored a goal and provided an assist on Zambia's third goal against China in a thrilling 4–4 draw.[13] Though the team did not advance out of group stage during their first Olympic tournament, Zambian president Edgar Lungu said he was proud of the team: "One word that describes their performance today [Tuesday] is resilience. Despite the red card and a nasty injury to our goalkeeper, the girls remained resilient against a strong opponent. You are the quintessence of hard work, which is the true Zambian spirit."[14]
On 6 July 2022, Kundananji, and three other teammates, including striker Barbra Banda, were ruled ineligible to compete for Zambia in the World Cup-qualifying tournament, Africa Cup of Nations, after a gender verification test found that their natural testosterone levels were above those allowed by the Confederation of African Football, which had stricter gender verification rules than the Olympics.[15] The ruling sparked significant controversy, with Human Rights Watch describing it as a "clear violation" of human rights.[16]
On 1 July 2023, Kundananji scored a goal and provided an assist in Zambia's 3–3 draw against #20 FIFA-ranked Switzerland.[17] Two days later she was named to Zambia's squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.[18] A few days later, she scored a goal against Germany in a 3–2 upset win against the two-time World Cup champions.[19]
Scores and results list Zambia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kundananji goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 November 2018 | Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia | 1–2 | 3–2 | Friendly | |
| 2 | 2–2 | |||||
| 3 | 3–2 | |||||
| 4 | 18 November 2018 | Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Cape Coast, Ghana | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations | |
| 5 | 5–0 | |||||
| 6 | 24 November 2018 | Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations | |
| 7 | 28 August 2019 | Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia | 5–0 | 5–0 | 2020 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament | |
| 8 | 8 November 2019 | Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Kenya | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2020 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament | |
| 9 | 24 July 2021 | Miyagi Stadium, Rifu, Japan | 1–1 | 4–4 | 2020 Summer Olympics | |
| 10 | 26 October 2021 | Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |
| 11 | 2–1 | |||||
| 12 | 22 June 2023 | 2–3 | 2–3 | Friendly | ||
| 13 | 30 June 2023 | Tissot Arena, Biel/Bienne, Switzerland | 3–1 | 3–3 | Friendly | |
| 14 | 7 July 2023 | Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer, Fürth, Germany | 2–0 | 3–2 | Friendly | |
| 15 | 31 July 2023 | Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup | |
| 16 | 26 September 2023 | Moulay Hassan Stadium, Rabat, Morocco | 1–0 | 6–2 | Friendly | |
| 17 | 2–1 | |||||
| 18 | 6–2 | |||||
| 19 | 29 November 2023 | Estádio 22 de Junho, Luanda, Angola | 6–0 | 6–0 | 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |
| 20 | 5 December 2023 | Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia | 1–0 | 6–0 | 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |
| 21 | 6–0 | |||||
| 22 | 23 February 2024 | Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2024 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament | |
| 23 | 28 July 2024 | Stade de Nice, Nice, France | 2–1 | 5–6 | 2024 Summer Olympics | |
| 24 | 5–2 | |||||