Gender test, Barba Banda from Zambia will go to the 2023 Women’s World Cup

Barbra Banda will be there. And she will captain Zambia as well as be one of the stars of the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year. Banda was excluded from the last African Cup – held in Morocco last July and won by South Africa – because she had not passed the gender tests. “But now Fifa is reviewing the eligibility regulation – said Sarai Bareman, head of the women’s division of the World Football Federation in an interview with BBC Sport Africa – and we can’t wait to welcome you next year. A series of new rules will soon be adopted by Fifa, which is also what the federations of other sports disciplines are also doing.

BOMBER

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Green light, even if only unofficially, also in Banda, therefore. Who with the sound of goals had already taken the world stage by signing, with the Copper Queens shirt, the “copper queens” – nickname of the Zambia national team – two hat-tricks during the 2020 Tokyo Games (disputed, due to Covid, in 2021) against the Netherlands and China: a circumstance that has never happened before and is therefore historic. However, his goals had not prevented the premature exit of his team, increasingly competitive especially at the continental level. So much so that Banda and Zambia were among the favorites for the title of African champion in July. But the attacker was unable to participate because “he had been undergoing treatment to reduce the level of the male hormone for some time”.

PERSPECTIVES

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The “copper queens” in Morocco, however, had not disfigured, hitting a good third place, ahead of Nigeria (1-0 defeat) and behind South Africa and Morocco (beaten 2-1 in the final). And now they can look to the World Cup with greater optimism. Because Fifa estimates that the new guidelines for gender suitability will be published before the world championship (July 20-August 20, 2023). “It is a very complex topic and there are many, many people who have their own opinions – said Bareman again -. Fifa’s role is to take all these points of view into consideration, because we really need to understand them, as well as research, evidence, individual situations, the human rights side, we need to take all of this into account before we can make any major decisions , which will have a big impact on many people.”

BLUE

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Africa will thus be represented not only by Zambia, but also by one between Senegal and Cameroon (admitted to the playoffs), and then by Nigeria, Morocco and South Africa, included in Milena Bertolini’s blue group with Argentina and Sweden.