Zambia defender Margaret Belemu made a memorable start to life at Maccabi Kishronot Hadera after scoring on her debut as the Israeli Women’s Premier League side thrashed Netanya Girls 6-0 on Thursday.
The Copper Queens right-back came off the bench in the 57th minute before putting the finishing touch on an impressive team performance, scoring Hadera’s sixth and final goal in the 85th minute to mark her first appearance for the club with a goal.
Belemu joined Hadera in July ahead of the 2026-27 season but had to wait to link up with her new teammates after representing Zambia at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. Her move to Israel is her second spell abroad, following a short stint with Turkish side Hakkarigucu Spor.
The 28-year-old has been a consistent figure in the Zambia national team and has been part of several major international campaigns during the Copper Queens’ rise on the continental and global stage. She was part of the Zambia side that qualified for the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica and has since featured in campaigns involving the Olympics, FIFA Women’s World Cup and Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Belemu has also represented Zambia in the qualifying campaigns and final tournaments for the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games, as well as the 2022 and 2024 WAFCON tournaments. She previously came close to securing a move to Chinese Women’s Super League club Shanghai Shengli in 2020, although the proposed transfer collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her latest move also comes with an interesting club connection, with Hadera affiliated with Spanish side Villarreal. After finally linking up with her new team following Zambia’s continental campaign, Belemu wasted little time making an impact, opening her Hadera account with the final goal in a dominant 6-0 victory.
Meanwhile, fellow Zambia international Martha Tembo was an unused substitute as Hapoel Raanana suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to FC Kiryat Gat.
