{"id":266488,"date":"2026-10-08T21:10:33","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T21:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/08\/racheal-kundananji-traded-to-chicago-stars-equalizer-soccer\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T21:10:33","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T21:10:33","slug":"racheal-kundananji-traded-to-chicago-stars-equalizer-soccer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/08\/racheal-kundananji-traded-to-chicago-stars-equalizer-soccer\/","title":{"rendered":"Racheal Kundananji traded to Chicago Stars \u2013 Equalizer Soccer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Zambian forward Racheal Kundananji has been traded from Bay FC to Chicago Stars in exchange for a transfer fee of $700,000. This is the first big roster move made by Vlatko Andonovski as Chicago\u2019s new chief soccer officer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cRacheal is a proven goal scorer and a fierce competitor, and we\u2019re thrilled to add a player of her quality to our roster,\u201d said Andonovski in a press release. \u201cHer accomplishments at the league and international levels are a testament to her standards and work ethic, and we look forward to seeing the impact she will make on our team as we build for 2027 and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kundananji initially joined the National Women\u2019s Soccer League when she signed to Bay FC\u2019s inaugural roster in February 2024 from Madrid CFF for what was then a women\u2019s world record transfer fee<\/a>. The contract runs through the 2027 season with an option for 2028.<\/p>\n

Over her three seasons in California, Kundananji made 63 appearances, scoring 12 goals and assisting 11. She departs Bay FC as the club\u2019s all-time leading scorer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am grateful to Bay FC for bringing me to the NWSL and giving me the opportunity to be part of this club from the beginning,\u201d said Kundananji. \u201cI love playing football, and the love I have received from the club and the supporters since I arrived has meant so much to me. Thank you to my teammates, the staff and everyone who supported me during my time here. To the Bay FC fans, thank you for welcoming me and cheering me on. I will always appreciate my time here and the memories we shared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Internationally, the 26-year-old made her senior international debut with Zambia in 2018 and has since become one of Zambia\u2019s leading goal scorers. She notably helped the team secure its first-ever Olympic appearance in Tokyo 2020, then went on to represent Zambia at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. Kundananji also represented Zambia in their FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup debut in 2023. She is currently with Zambia as they take on Uganda in a qualifying match for the 2028 Summer Olympics.<\/p>\n

Chicago is able to afford Kundananji at least in part thanks to selling Jameese Joseph to the Utah Royals a month ago for 750,000 in intraleague transfer funds, with conditional add-ons up to $840,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJoining a historic club like the Chicago Stars is an incredible honor,\u201d said Kundananji. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to step onto the pitch and work hard to help the team. I\u2019m super excited and looking forward to meeting our amazing fans, and to give everything I have for this badge.\u201d<\/p>\n


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Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Zambian forward Racheal Kundananji has been traded from Bay FC to Chicago Stars in exchange for a transfer fee of $700,000. This is the first big roster move made by Vlatko Andonovski as Chicago\u2019s new chief soccer officer. \u201cRacheal is a proven goal scorer and a fierce competitor, and we\u2019re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":266489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6805],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-266488","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-womens"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}