The US club Bay FC is paying a world record sum for a soccer player from Zambia. Behind this is an ambitious project that wants to shake up football.
Racheal Kundananji. All sports enthusiasts should remember the name. The 23-year-old striker is considered a superstar in her home country of Zambia; she scored 33 goals in 43 competitive games in a year and a half for her club Madrid CFF.
The German women’s national team also has memories of the Zambian footballer, as Alexandra Popp’s team lost a test match shortly before the 2023 Women’s World Cup against the enthusiastic Zambians 3-2. Kundananji scored the psychologically important 2-0 for Zambia shortly after the restart – a setback from which the DFB women did not recover until injury time.
It has now been announced that Kundananji is moving from the strong Spanish women’s league to the USA. For a world record transfer fee of around 735,000 euros. Bay FC is preparing to shake up the highly rated American women’s professional league in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). This was reported by the trade journal “Marca” and other media on Tuesday, citing Madrid CFF circles.
Official offer initially probably rejected
It was said that no player in the history of women’s football had ever changed clubs for that much money. The new US club from the San Francisco region in California will pay, among other things, the full transfer fee. In addition, performance-related bonus payments totaling the equivalent of around 70,000 euros were agreed. However, neither Madrid nor Bay FC gave any figures in their official announcements about the move.
As the trade magazine “Goal” reports, Madrid CFF had previously rejected an official offer of 400,000 euros for Racheal Kundananji. The player then forced the move herself, and Bay FC also agreed to pay the fixed transfer fee of $750,000 (around 735,000 euros). US sports magazines speak of a “blockbuster transfer”, i.e. a sensational transfer.
The advantages for both sides are obvious: In addition to a handsome salary, Kundananji in the USA has the opportunity to become the figurehead of the up-and-coming NWSL. Similar to Argentina’s world champion Lionel Messi, who moved from Paris St. Germain to Inter Miami last summer, it could take US soccer to a new level.
The club founder looks at the return
For the club based near San Francisco, which was only founded in April 2023, the change is an absolute coup. The young club appears on the scene with a bang and can boast a top international star in its first season.
Former US national players Aly Wagner, Brandi Chastain, Danielle Slaton and Leslie Osborne are among those behind Bay FC. According to media reports, together with the investment company Sixth Street, they pumped 53 million US dollars (around 52 million euros) into the club in order to make it immediately competitive. Bay FC’s goals are ambitious. “The more you invest in a project, the more return you get afterwards,” is how Aly Wagner describes her club’s formula for success.
The former midfield strategist, who embarked on a successful career as a sports presenter after retiring in 2010, currently serves as co-chair of Bay FC. According to Wagner, she wants the club not only to reach the same level as men’s football in the USA, but also to become a global sports brand, as Wagner described her vision to the “US Campaign” portal. They and the investors certainly also have the year 2026 in mind. Then the Women’s World Cup will be held in the USA, including in San Francisco and San José, where Bay FC plays its home games.