A footballer who missed a major tournament amid a gender eligibility row over high testosterone levels has been named as BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year.
Zambia and Orlando Pride striker Barbra Banda received the most votes from BBC Sport website readers after being included on a five-player shortlist.
Banda’s inclusion in the running for the annual prize was criticised by women’s rights groups because she has previously ruled out of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in 2022 over high testosterone levels.
Her victory was announced today in a BBC Sport website report which did not mention the controversy over her inclusion.
Banda, 24, said: ‘I am shocked and surprised to have this award right by my side.
Zambia and Orlando Pride striker Barbra Banda has been named BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year for 2024 after triumphing in a vote involving a five-player shortlist
‘I would like to thank the people who voted and everyone who has played a part in my life and my career – my family, my national team in Zambia and especially the Pride team. It is for everyone.’
The Women’s Rights Network had accused the broadcaster of bringing female sport into ‘disrepute’ by including Banda on the shortlist.
The five nominees were picked by a panel of experts involved in football across the globe including coaches, players, administrators and non-BBC journalists.
The corporation’s coverage today said: ‘This panel did not include any BBC personnel, and the winner was voted for by the public.’
Banda was left out of Zambia’s squad for the Women’s African Cup of Nations two years ago with reports at the time claiming she had failed a gender test.
It later emerged she was not tested by tournament organisers but she was omitted pre-emptively when team bosses became aware her testosterone levels exceeded those permitted by the Confederation of African Football.
The former professional boxer, who was registered female at birth, according to the Associated Press, was claimed to have refused to take suppressants to lower her levels out of concerns about potential side effects.
An investigation last year by the Telegraph said there was no suggestion that Banda’s testosterone levels were ‘anything but naturally occurring’.
Barbra Banda, pictured playing for her club side Orlando Pride in September, has said of her individual prize victory: ‘I am shocked and surprised to have this award right by my side’
Banda signed a four-year contract with the Orlando Pride in March, earning around $2million
Her agent Anton Maksimov previously said it was not true that she had failed a gender test and that she was removed based on an ‘evaluation of her physical conditions’.
He said in a statement at the time of the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations: ‘As her official representative, I can state that Barbra has not been banned or suspended from participating in the current WAFCON by CAF, FAZ, FIFA, or any other governing body.
‘She has not undergone and consequently has not failed any “gender verification” or “gender eligibility tests” administered prior to the tournament. Barbra is also perfectly healthy and fit.
‘The decision not to currently feature Barbra at the tournament is FAZ’s internal decision based on their own evaluation of her physical conditions before coming to Morocco.
‘I reiterate that nothing, no existing regulations that we are aware of, prevents Barbra’s participation in the WAFCON 2022. Barbra has not failed any medical tests in this regard either.’
Yet there has been criticism of the recently announced decision to nominate her for the BBC award.
The WRN campaign group posted a furious statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying: ‘Yet again, women’s sport is being brought into disrepute (and women footballers put at risk of serious injury) by weak governing bodies that refuse to stand up for fairness and safety for females.
‘If female footballers fail “gender eligibility” this raises inevitable questions over their sex.’
Banda (left) was on a five-player shortlist for the award alongside Spain’s Aitana Bonmati, Naomi Girma and Sophia Smith of the USA and Norway’s Caroline Graham Hansen
Banda, seen here playing for Zambia against Australia during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, received the most votes from BBC Sport website readers
Round the world sailor Tracy Edwards also questioned why Banda was shortlisted as she wrote on X: ‘Barbra Banda FAILED a “gender eligibility test” but is now shortlisted for the “BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year”. @BBCSport Care to comment?!!!!’
Former Team GB Olympian Sharron Davies also waded in on the row as she reposted Edwards’ message to her 254,000 followers on X.
And in response to a fellow X user who posted ‘Suggestion from @BBCSport that you choose a male player as women’s footballer of the year’, Davies replied: ‘Never fail to disappoint.’
A BBC spokesperson said last month: ‘As well as playing in the past two Olympic Games and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Barbra Banda plays for the Zambian national women’s team and in the USA for Orlando Pride making her fully eligible for nomination for the award which celebrates talent in women’s football.
‘The five-player shortlist was decided by an expert panel made up of current and former professionals, coaches and journalists who looked at players’ achievements in the past 12 months to narrow down the shortlist for the prestigious award.’
Banda represented Zambia at Paris 2024 where she scored a hat-trick against Australia and became Africa’s all-time top scorer in Olympic football history with 10 goals.
She became the second most expensive women’s footballer in history when in March US side Orlando Pride signed the international for $740,000 (£565,000).
With a contract worth about $500,000 (£382,000) per year, Banda is one of the highest paid players in the NWSL.
When Orlando Pride announced her signing, the club’s sporting director Haley Carter described Banda as ‘a natural-born goal scorer and one of the most physically imposing forwards in the world’.