Nationwide Ladies’s Soccer League (NWSL) aspect Bay FC have signed Zambia ahead Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF for a world-record payment.
A supply with data of negotiations, who’s granted anonymity to guard relationships, confirmed to The Athletic that the payment for the 23-year-old is €735,000 ($785,000).
She has signed a contract till 2027 with the choice of an extra 12 months.
Bay FC basic supervisor, Lucy Rushton, stated: “We’re delighted so as to add Racheal to our group. She is an incredible expertise with dynamic attacking qualities and an unimaginable bodily profile who has produced for each membership and nation.
“Racheal has a composure in-front of purpose and a pure potential to attain with various kinds of finishes and from numerous areas. We imagine she’s going to proceed to develop and develop at our membership, showcasing her skillset and including to the array of thrilling attacking expertise we’ve got right here.”
Bay FC is a newly established crew within the NWSL, set to embark on their inaugural season in 2024.
Kundananji, in the meantime, has scored 33 objectives in 43 Liga F video games for Madrid.
At worldwide degree, Kundananji showcased her expertise by each taking part in and scoring within the 2023 Ladies’s World Cup. She additionally boasts a formidable document of 10 objectives in 18 appearances for Zambia.
She turns into the primary African participant to interrupt a world switch document.
Chelsea broke the ladies’s switch document final month after signing Colombia worldwide striker Mayra Ramirez from Levante. The Spanish aspect stated that the deal quantities to €450,000 ($482,000, £382,800) mounted, plus an extra €50,000 in variable quantities primarily based on objectives that the membership expects to be met, one in all which requires Ramirez to play 30 per cent of the matches.
England midfielder Keira Walsh beforehand broke the ladies’s switch document in 2022 following her transfer from Manchester Metropolis to Barcelona.
Kundananji joined Madrid from Eibar in August 2022, having beforehand had stints at Kazakhstan membership BIIK Shymkent and Zambian aspect Indeni Roses.
The ladies’s sport noticed a document spend for a January window of $2.1m. This marked the second record-breaking switch window in a row following the $3m spent final summer season.
In February, Bay FC additionally accomplished the signings of Arsenal defender Jen Beattie and Asisat Oshoala from Barcelona.
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