Co-produced with Sam Soko at LBX Africa. Directed by Nyasha Kadandara.

The football fields of Lusaka, Zambia, are full of women striving to do the impossible. Determined to etch their names in history, they have qualified for the world’s biggest stage: the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. At the helm are a former boxer and a bus conductor turned world-class strikers, captain Barbra Banda, and her vice, Racheal Kundananji. While playing internationally in China and Spain, respectively, the two have their eyes set on the elite stage—the American women’s league (NWSL)—bigger clubs and better contracts. But closer to home, they want a shot at legacy.

Together, Barbra and Racheal lead a team hungry to follow their path, each player carrying not just ambition but the weight of their families’ futures. Most of the players play part-time in local leagues that barely pay. To keep the lights on, they enlist in the military and play for the army’s teams. But, promised payments from an ill-equipped national federation never arrive. The team contemplate a boycott, but they can’t afford to protest for long. With no fallback, they press on. In New Zealand, all their weakness are laid bare. Barbra and Racheal, along with the squad, have the mammoth task of making Zambia proud in the face of adversity.

Beyond the World Cup, the bigger question becomes what happens when the world starts to take notice of these underdogs? Fame and success come with more scrutiny and abuse. This story is bigger than football. COPPER QUEENS is a front-row seat to an extraordinary journey that celebrates how far women’s sport in Africa has come, and the powerful, painful, and triumphant road it takes to reach the top.