Lameck Banda
Banda with Arsenal Tula in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth (2001-01-29) 29 January 2001
Place of birth Lusaka, Zambia
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Position(s) Left winger
Team information
Current team
 Lecce
Number 22
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Nkwazi
2018–2019 ZESCO United
2019–2022 Arsenal Tula 11 (0)
2020–2021 → Maccabi Netanya (loan) 24 (2)
2021–2022 → Maccabi Petah Tikva (loan) 33 (8)
2022– Lecce 47 (4)
International career‡
Zambia U17
Zambia U20
2019 Zambia U23 3 (0)
2022– Zambia 11 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:20, 12 December 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 November 2023

Lameck Banda (born 29 January 2001) is a Zambian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Serie A club Lecce and the Zambia national team.

Club career

On 10 July 2019, Banda signed a contract with Russian Premier League club FC Arsenal Tula.[2] He joined his compatriots Evans Kangwa and Kings Kangwa at the club.

He made his debut in the Russian Premier League for Arsenal Tula on 12 July 2019 in a season-opening game against FC Dynamo Moscow, as a starter.[3]

On 3 September 2020, Banda signed with Maccabi Netanya.[4] On 7 September 2020, Arsenal Tula confirmed the transfer and announced that it is a loan until May 2021.[5] On 6 August 2021, he returned to Israel, joining Maccabi Petah Tikva on a season-long loan with an option to buy.[6]

On 4 August 2022, Banda joined newly-promoted Serie A club U.S. Lecce on a permanent deal, signing a four-year deal with an option for a fifth season.[7][8] He then made his debut for the Italian club on 13 August, coming on as a substitute for Federico de Francesco in the 74th minute of a 2–1 league loss against Inter Milan.[9] By doing so, he became the first Zambian player to ever feature in a Serie A match.[9]

On 4 January 2023, Banda was racially abused, together with his team-mate Samuel Umtiti, by a group of away supporters during a home league game against Lazio.[10][11][12][13] The Lazio fans involved kept targeting the two players with racist chants throughout most part of the match,[10][14] with referee Livio Martinelli being forced to interrupt the game for a few minutes during the second half – although the Zambian player had already been substituted at half time.[10][12][13] The game eventually ended in a 2–1 win for Lecce.[11][12] The club's president himself, Saverio Sticchi Damiani, defended both the abused players in the post-match.[10][13][14] Lazio apologised for the behaviour of their supporters by issuing an official statement on social media,[15] while FIFA president Gianni Infantino showed support to Umtiti and Banda through a message on his Instagram profile.[12][13]

International career

Banda has been capped by Zambia at the under-17, under-20 and under-23 levels.[16][17] He debuted for the senior Zambia national team in a friendly 3–1 win over the Congo on 25 March 2022.[18]

References

  1. ↑ Lameck Banda at Russian Premier League
  2. ↑ "ЛАМЕК БАНДА И КИНГС КАНГВА В "АРСЕНАЛЕ"" [Lameck Banda and Kings Kangwa in Arsenal] (in Russian). FC Arsenal Tula. 10 July 2019.
  3. ↑ "Game Report by RFPL" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 12 July 2019.
  4. ↑ Pshehazky, Moti (3 September 2020). "המחטף הושלם: לאמק בנדה חתם בנתניה" (in Hebrew). Sport5. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  5. ↑ "ЛАМЕК БАНДА – В "МАККАБИ" НЕТАНИЯ" [Lameck Banda at Maccabi Netanya] (in Russian). FC Arsenal Tula. 7 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "We are pleased to announce tonight the two signatures". Maccabi Petah Tikva. 6 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "Lameck Banda è un calciatore del Lecce". U.S. Lecce (in Italian). 4 August 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  8. ↑ De Magistris, Raimondo (4 August 2022). "UFFICIALE: Lecce, il nuovo attaccante è zambiano. Preso il 2001 Lameck Banda". TUTTOmercatoweb.it. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  9. 1 2 "Lameck Banda makes his Serie A debut". Zambian Telegraph. 14 August 2022. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "I cori razzisti durante Lecce-Lazio". Il Post (in Italian). 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Il Lecce ribalta la Lazio ma Umtiti esce in lacrime: buu razzisti contro di lui". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 4 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Garrick, Omar (5 January 2023). "Infantino shows support for Umtiti, Banda after racist abuse". The Athletic. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Infantino calls on fans to 'shut up all the racists'". ESPN. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  14. 1 2 Calvi, Francesco (4 January 2023). "Ululati verso Umtiti e Banda, la lezione del Lecce: "Il nostro pubblico ha zittito i razzisti"". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "Cori razzisti in Lecce-Lazio, arriva il comunicato di condanna del club biancoceleste". Sky Sport (in Italian). 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  16. ↑ "COSAFA Under-17 Championship". RSSSF. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  17. ↑ "Lameck Banda profile". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  18. ↑ "Zambia vs. Congo - 25 March 2022". Soccerway. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.