Zambia is forced to dispense with its superstar Barbara Banda in the African Championships – even though she played the Olympics less than a year ago.
According to Spanish media, the reason is that Panda has a “very masculine body”.
Zambia Star, striker and captain Barbara Banda missed the team’s premiere of the African Championship against Cameroon.
According to the Confederation of African Football, it was suspended for “medical reasons”.
Now the Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo reports that “medical reasons” actually mean that the Panda has an “overly masculine body” and very high testosterone levels.
– I can’t give you the real reasons. Better to ask the guild. Zambia coach Bruce Mwape says.
Rumors for Real Madrid
Banda has not yet commented on the suspension, but in her absence she provides support to her teammates after the team’s 0-0 match against Cameroon.
“Hint point today. Well done girls. I’m with you all the way. Let’s focus on our next match,” she wrote in a Twitter post.
The 22-year-old superstar has been a huge success in the Chinese league and racked up a hat-trick in three games at the Olympics in August. She did one of her hat-tricks when Zambia lost to the Netherlands 3-10, the most all-time Olympic goal-scoring match ever.
Recently, it was rumored that Banda is close to signing for Real Madrid.
Several suspended
Panda is not the only one who has been denied exercise due to high testosterone levels.
Previously, South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya was suspended from athletics for the same.
The issue of testosterone levels has also been discussed in many sports recently, including swimming and athletics.