Redemption tour opens in Kampala: Banda joins the Copper Queens for Thursday's Olympic qualifier against Uganda

The cavalry landed on Monday. Copper Queens captain Barbra Banda has joined the national camp in Kampala — alongside defenders Margaret Belemu, Martha Tembo and Lushomo Mweemba and midfielder Ireen Lungu — ahead of Thursday's 2028 Los Angeles Olympic qualifier against Uganda at Hamz Stadium, Nakivubo. Kick-off is at 15:00 hours Zambian time.

The five are part of eight foreign-based players summoned by interim head coach Charles Haalubono to reinforce the seventeen home-based players for the back-to-back tie. US-based forward Racheal Kundananji, Prisca Chilufya and Mercy Chipasula were due in camp by Tuesday, completing a squad that held a recovery session at Mutesa II Stadium on Monday evening after the long journey. Banda arrives in form: her twelfth goal of the NWSL season came for Orlando Pride on Saturday.

The frame around the fixture is redemption. Zambia parted ways with Swiss coach Nora Häuptle in September after an underwhelming 2026 WAFCON campaign, and Haalubono — appointed on an interim basis — takes his first competitive assignment with the Olympic pathway as his mandate. Uganda at Nakivubo is a stern first examination: the Crested Cranes are strong at home, and the tie is decided over two legs, with the Copper Queens travelling straight to Ndola for the return fixture.

For a generation that has carried Zambian women's football to World Cups and Olympics, the 2028 road is about proving the project outlasts one tournament cycle. Thursday asks the first question; Ndola, five days later, will demand the answer.

Sources: Lusaka Times, "Barbra Banda joins Copper Queens camp in Uganda" (5 Oct 2026); ZamFoot on the foreign-based arrivals (5 Oct 2026); Pan-Africa Football on the squad build-up and Haalubono's appointment (6 Oct 2026); FAZ Media on the Kampala recovery session (6 Oct 2026).