Junior Banda represented the
Zambia women's national under-17 football team in the
2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. She turned 14 during the tournament. During the team's first group stage match, Banda scored a
hat trick against the
Netherlands. The match ended 3–10, the worst ever loss for the Zambia women's national football team and the highest-scoring women's football match in Olympics history. In their second group match, Banda scored another hat trick against
China with the match ending in a 4–4 draw. She became the first woman footballer in Olympic history to score back-to-back hat tricks and the first to score two hat tricks in one tournament. She is Africa's all-time top scorer in Olympic history. On 6 July 2022, Banda and three teammates, including striker
Racheal Kundananji, were ruled ineligible to compete for Zambia in the World Cup-qualifying tournament,
Africa Cup of Nations, after a gender verification test found that their natural testosterone levels were above those allowed by the
Confederation of African Football, which has stricter
gender verification rules than the Olympics. The ruling sparked significant controversy, with
Human Rights Watch describing it as a "clear violation" of her human rights. In August 2022, following Zambia's third-place finish at the tournament (and despite Banda not being able to compete), she and seven of her teammates were promoted by the
Zambian Army. Banda was given the rank of sergeant, the highest among the group. In September 2022, Banda led Zambia to win their first
2022 COSAFA Women's Cup, the top women's international football tournament for national teams from Southern Africa Her ten goals earned her the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament. 3–2 upset win over Germany, 7 July 2024|Banda during the
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup 3–2 upset win over Germany, 7 July 2024 On 7 July 2023, she scored two goals, including the game-winner in the 12th minute of
injury time, against FIFA #2-
ranked Germany, leading #77-ranked Zambia to an astounding 3–2
upset. Banda was named Player of the Match. Later that month, on 31 July, Banda won player of the match in Zambia's first win in a
World Cup, a 3–1 victory over
Costa Rica. In this game Banda scored Zambia's second-ever World Cup goal, a penalty kick which was also the 1,000th goal in Women's World Cup history. On 9 April 2024, she scored a brace in a 2–0 away extra-time victory over
Morocco, qualifying her nation to the
2024 Summer Olympics by winning the home-and-away series 3–2 on aggregate. On 3 July 2024, Banda was called up to the Zambia squad for the
2024 Summer Olympics. Although Zambia failed to advance past the group stage, Banda was the joint second-highest goalscorer of the tournament after netting 4 goals in 3 games. 3 of her goals combined for a
hat-trick in Zambia's 6–5 loss to
Australia. November 2024 saw her voted the
BBC Women's Footballer of the Year after getting the most reader votes. This came after her performances in the 2024 Olympics,
NWSL season, and
NWSL playoffs, as well as her becoming the second most expensive women's signing in history. Banda was the subject of an online attack by
J. K. Rowling who implied that she is male. US Women's National Team Head Coach
Emma Hayes and retired US midfielder
Megan Rapinoe defended Banda. On 16 December 2024 Banda was voted the
African Women's Footballer of the Year for 2024.{{Cite web |date=2024-12-16 |title=Lookman, Banda and Williams are big winners at 2024 CAF Awards in Marrakech, Morocco ==Other work==