Claim
On July 31, 2023, following a FIFA Women’s World Cup match on 26 July against eventual tournament winners Spain, a claim started circulating on Facebook that Zambian captain Barbra Banda had achieved a milestone during the match. A post on 31 July on the Facebook page of Zambian artist Wezi Mhone claimed: “BARBRA BANDA BECOMES THE FIRST PLAYER TO STAND ON THE BALL AT THE FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP” The post (image below) attracted about 63,000 engagements, 2,100 comments and 224 shares. Most of the comments appeared to be congratulatory in tone. The same claim was repeated by another Facebook page on 2 August, this time attracting around 78,000 engagements, 4,600 comments and 481 shares. The Facebook page that reposted or repeated the claim is called Mwebantu (image below), which is categorised as a “Newspaper” and describes itself on its Facebook page as “Zambia’s new media publisher. We share news as it breaks, share popular videos, politics”. Since early August the claim has been repeated or reposted across various social media pages and profiles.
Rating Justification
The aspects of the claim that we set out to check were the following: First, did Barbra Banda stand on the ball as claimed, and Second, was Barbra Banda the first player to stand on the ball at a FIFA Women’s World Cup?
With regard to the first part of the claim, whether Barbra Banda actually stood on the ball, the video footage from which the screenshot image was taken that was shared with both of the viral posts shows that Barbra Banda did not stand on the ball, as depicted. The screenshot image that accompanied the viral claim was taken at the exact moment where Barbra Banda, as she did a step-over dribble of the ball, appeared to be standing on the ball for an instant.
An examination of the video shows that Barbra Banda did not stand on the ball. As to the second aspect of the claim, whether Barbra Banda was the first to stand on a ball at a FIFA Women’s World Cup, there is no evidence that such an achievement exists or has been recorded by FIFA. The announcement of such an achievement does not appear on the official Facebook page of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Furthermore, iVerify Zambia reached out to Barbra Banda in August and got a response from her manager, Aaron Mubanga, in early September. Mubanga indicated that Barbra Banda had not been recognised for standing on the ball at the Women’s World Cup and that the viral posts that claimed such a feat or achievement were “misleading and inaccurate”.iVerify Zambia reached out repeatedly to the administrators of both the Wezi Mhone and Mwebantu Facebook pages to clarify what evidence they had that proved Barbra Banda was the “first woman to stand on a ball at a Women’s World Cup”. However, by the time of publication, no response had been received from either Facebook page.
Therefore, it is misleading that Barbra Banda stood on the ball as an achievement.
This report was compiled under the mentorship of Africa Facts network member Namibia Fact Check. Africa Facts is a network of fact checkers across the continent supported by Africa Check, Africa’s first independent fact checking organization.
