12/03/2026
Congratulations to Rachel Kundananji for winning the IOC 2025 Champion on Gender Equality award.
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Copper Queen Racheal Kundananji Crowned 2025 IOC Champion for Gender Equality
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We extend our proudest congratulations to the extraordinary individuals recognized by the 2025 International Olympic Committee – IOC Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Champions Awards. While we celebrate leaders from across the globe who are driving critical advancements in sport, the spotlight shines brightest on home soil as Zambia's own Racheal Kundananji OLY takes the top honor for Africa.
Alongside Racheal, we recognize the Global Winner, Abhijit Bhattacharya of India, as well as the continental champions breaking barriers worldwide: Mónica Elvira Franco Luzcando (Americas), Kim Yeon-koung OLY (Asia), Michele Kang (Europe), and Robyn Cockburn (Oceania).
While the world celebrates Racheal for her spectacular goals on the global stage, her most profound victories are being secured back home in Zambia. As the African continental winner of the IOC GEDI Award, the elite Zambian footballer is writing a new playbook for the next generation, proving that high-performance sporting success can fuel deep, community-driven impact.
At the heart of this mission is the Racheal Kundananji Legacy Foundation. Proudly co-founded and led by women, the foundation harnesses the unifying power of football to uplift girls and young women from disadvantaged communities across Zambia.
Her comprehensive approach tackles systemic barriers head-on through four defining pillars:
➡️ The "Kick for Greatness" Initiative: Fusing organized football with critical life-skills education, HIV prevention, and reproductive health awareness alongside UNAIDS and UNESCO
➡️ Championing Safe Sport: Engineering discrimination-free environments by embedding gender-based violence (GBV) prevention directly into grassroots programs.
➡️ Cultivating Future Leaders: Going beyond athletic development to equip young women with the competencies required to become strong, confident decision-makers.
➡️ Redefining Po
