'ZAMBIAN WHIRLWIND' IN CHINESE WOMEN'S SUPER LEAGUE

At the lakeside of Dianchi Lake in Southwest China's Yunnan province where steady climate means fruit and flowers are always available, the 2020 Chinese Football Association Women's Super League is in full swing. Zambian girl Barbara Banda, the Shanghai women's football foreign aid, shined in the first three rounds, blasting four goals and setting off a "Zambian whirlwind".

The 20-year-old from Zambia is a star in the 2020 Chinese Football Association Women's Super League, which is being held in the southwestern city of Kunming from Aug 23 to Oct 11.

Barbra Banda signed a three-year contract with Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank at the beginning of the year with the goal to win the Women's Super League championship. She came to the sidelines after training. She took off her boots and put them in her bag before sitting cross-legged on the grass and sharing her story.

Whether it was a 5-0 victory over Zhejiang Hangzhou Women's Football Team in the first round, a 4:1 defeat of Changchun Volkswagen in the second round, or a small victory over Guangdong Meizhou Wuhua 1-0 in the third round, Banda scored every game and was wonderful. Facing the goalkeeper, she hangs the goal calmly; high-speed advances, she breaks into the penalty area; catches the ball in the front court, she organizes support. Banda hits the opponent's defense time and time again, showing offensive talent.

After the third round of China's top women's football league which finished last Saturday, Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank temporarily ranked second in the standings with three wins in a row. Banda scored in each of the three games.

Cutting into the penalty area and chipping the ball over the goalkeeper, Banda's offensive talent was a showcase on the pitch. "I had some experience in Spain. I thought maybe it is time for me to try something new in China," she said. "No matter where I am, winning is my only goal."

Last year, Banda, who played for Spain's EDF Logrono, staged a hat-trick in the women's football match against Real Madrid to help the team reverse and win. At the beginning of the year, Banda transferred from EDF Logrono to Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank.

As a strong contender for the championship. "I came here to win the title," she said. Banda is obviously getting used to winning. In March, as the captain of the Zambian women's football team, she led her team to beat her rival Cameroon's national team in the Olympic qualifiers and led the Zambian girls to book berth in the Olympic Games for the first time in history.

At the age of 20, she emerged in the three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. Banda has no inhibitions about making her opinions known on the development of women's football. "People always think that football is a men's sport. I think that as long as you make up your mind, you can change everything," Banda said frankly. Women's football have received little level of interest compared with Men's, but this does not restrain the girls' passion for football.

Banda recalled that when she was a little child, her parents worried that football would affect her schooling and thought that football was a game only for boys. Despite the obstacles, she had to steal shoes from home to play.

"I used to play with little boys, because back then there was no women's football team in my hometown. You just have to join them if you want to play. People think football is only a game for boys, but I think it is up to you to determine what you want."

"The situation has to be changed, right? why not me?" she added.

Xinhua