Lecce extend Lameck Banda’s contract — the winger has vanished and no one knows where he is
The winger’s contract was extended to June 2027, but after talks with Al‑Fateh he disappeared and has not returned to Lecce’s preseason.
Lecce has activated a one-year extension on winger Lameck Banda’s contract, yet the 25-year-old Zambian has been unreachable for days and his current whereabouts remain unknown.
Banda, born in 2001, joined Lecce in the summer of 2022 and produced his best season with the club when he contributed five goals and four assists as one of the key players who helped the team avoid relegation. That form convinced the club he could attract interest from bigger clubs.
Contract move and a stalled Saudi transfer
His contract, which expired in June, contained a unilateral option to extend to June 2027. While Pantaleo Corvino was still sporting director, Lecce tried several times to reach a new agreement with Banda, but without success. To avoid losing him on a free transfer, the club eventually exercised the clause and renewed the deal for an additional year.
The extension passed largely unnoticed until the second week of July, when players were called for routine preseason medicals at the Biolab centre in Cutrofiano and everyone turned up except Banda. Around that time he began talks with Saudi club Al-Fateh, who reportedly offered the player a lucrative multi-year contract while lodging a very low offer to Lecce.
The club indicated it would consider a departure if Banda was unhappy. Problems followed: his agents told Lecce he had passport issues and bureaucratic delays, while Banda himself posted an Instagram video showing him playing football with friends on a dirt pitch. Lecce travelled to Austria for training on July 15; the board — led by president Saverio Sticchi Damiani and sporting director Trinchera — opened disciplinary proceedings to protect the club’s interests.
A brief sign of hope came on July 23, when Banda was photographed at Lusaka airport apparently preparing to return to Italy, but he never arrived and there has been no trace of him since. “Whatever his aim, he chose the worst possible approach,” said Saverio Sticchi Damiani. Club officials and Banda’s agents say they are bewildered and uncertain about what the 25-year-old wants.
Photo: press material from the event
