Bay FC and Zambia forward Racheal Kundananji has shot to soccer stardom, but she wants to be remembered for her foundation’s work improving lives in her home country — combatting issues like addiction, HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy.
Speaking to ESPN head of the newly-commenced NWSL season, Kundananji said that although she was, until recently, the world’s most expensive women’s footballer, that is not what she wants to be remembered for.
Kundananji said: “My belief is that being successful in life is not about how much money you have made or what you have done for yourself or your family.
“Being successful is making a change – helping others who are down and bringing them up; people who want to make it in life – at least making the ladder for them.”
Kundananji launched the Racheal Kundananji Legacy Foundation in July 2024. During the NWSL off-season, she was named a UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador for Education Plus.
According to a UNAIDS press release, Kundananji will, “work with UNAIDS to champion HIV prevention, advocate for girls’ education to help reduce new HIV infections and sexually transmitted infections.
“She will also highlight the importance of preventing teenage pregnancy and advocate for an increase in HIV testing and access to health services for young people.”
During the NWSL off-season, Kundananji visited Sanity House, a rehabilitation centre in Lusaka. What she saw there, aside from what she already knew from purely living in Zambia, made up her mind about her long-term goal.
She said: “My dream was to have a team, my own soccer team, but as I was travelling around, sitting down, meeting different people, I came to realise that if I want to help a lot of people, I don’t need to create a team; I need to create a foundation which will help a lot of people – not just my team, but also people from different communities.
“That’s how we came up with the Racheal Kundananji Legacy Foundation, which is looking to help athletes through education, even other ways of helping them with training equipment, jerseys for the teams.”
Key to Kundananji’s vision is that she aims to not only work on empowering girls, but also working with boys and educating them about societal problems: “I went to visit the rehabilitation centre, where I spoke to some guys who are recovering from addictions.
“We had a good chat where I learned a lot of things from them and I also talked to them, motivated them, and they were so excited to see me around. They got motivated, which is a good way to go.”
Using existing education tools is a key element to her plan, she added: “We were just printing some exercise books with the Racheal Kundananji [Legacy] Foundation pillars and everything written on the book and also the photos, just to motivate students.
“We give them the books, and every time they want to get the books, they will be motivated. When they see the picture, they will be like: ‘I want to be like her. I want to be this,’ so that they’re just happy every time.”
Sanity House posted on their Facbeook page in January: “Racheal Kundananji visited us and gave a very powerful session to our clients in recovery. She spoke about the power of having a positive mindset when faced with challenges [as well as the] importance of having discipline and positive coping mechanisms.
“She shared her transformation story from being an unruly teenager to being the world’s most expensive female player in history [ until Naomi Girma later in January]. She also shared some of her success tips. Continue raising the Zambian Flag Rachael; we wish you well.”
After finding form towards the end of last season, Kundananji will be looking to pick up where she left off as Bay look to improve on last season’s quarter-final exit, and giving kids back home even more to aspite to.