Zambia international Racheal Nachula, a stalwart of past COSAFA Women’s Championships, has signed for Spanish second-tier side Real Zaragoza, the club has confirmed.
The 30-year-old makes the home from Green Buffaloes and joins compatriot Barbra Banda (Logrono) in Spain.
It is just reward for a player who has shown on the regional scene in recent years, top-scoring at the 2019 COSAFA Women’s Championship with 10 goals as her side finished runners-up to hosts South Africa.
She also featured in the 2018 tournament as Zambia finished fourth after losing to East African guest nation Uganda in the bronze-medal play-off.
Nachula will move to her new club for the 2020-21 campaign after the current season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Zaragoza finished eighth in the 16-team division.
She helped Buffaloes to the FAZ 2020 National Women’s League title in March after they beat Green Academy 9-0 in the final.
But perhaps most notably she is also part of the Zambian squad that stunned Cameroon in the final round of qualifiers to book their place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which have been moved to next year.
It will not be her first visit to the Olympics, Nachula was previously a sprinter and competed in the 400-metres at Beijing 2008.