The Orlando Pride have signed Zambian international Barbra Banda for a $740,000 transfer fee, the second-highest in women’s soccer history and National Women’s Soccer League history.

Banda joins the Orlando Pride from the Chinese Super League and has a contract worth around $2million over the next four years. The record for the highest transfer fee paid for a female player still belongs to her Zambian teammate, Racheal Kundananji, who joined NWSL expansion side Bay FC on a $787,600 transfer.

Banda’s contract with the Pride is a four-year deal valued at around $2.1 million all-in, including bonuses, sources confirmed, which will make her one of the highest-paid players in the NWSL.

Banda’s breakout came at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She scored hat tricks in back-to-back group games, becoming the first woman in Olympic history to score successive hat tricks and to score two hat tricks in the same tournament.

Zambia struggled at the tournament, losing those games 10-3 to the Netherlands and drawing China 4-4, but Banda’s talent drew global attention.