Jeda was very harsh on Banda: “Lecce deserves respect. Always.”
Jeda, who played for Lecce during the 2010–2011 and 2012–13 seasons, weighs in on what’s happening between the Salento club and Banda. “I’m sorry to see this happen,” writes the striker. “And, honestly, it also makes me angry. I don’t know all the details, and I don’t want to pass judgment. But one thing I do know: when you start from humble beginnings and soccer takes you to play in Serie A, in a city like Lecce, you have to remember every day where you came from.”.
“I arrived in Lecce with so many dreams and a huge hunger to succeed. That city welcomed me, put its trust in me, and allowed me to experience something that seemed impossible. I never felt bigger than that jersey. I always felt lucky to be able to wear it,” he adds.
“You may want to switch teams. You may have problems. You may choose a different path. But you have to own up to it. Because respect for the club, for your teammates, and above all for the fans comes first. Lecce doesn’t ask you to be perfect. It asks you to give your all and to respect what you represent. I’ll always be grateful to that city and those people. That’s why this whole situation hurts me. Lecce deserves respect. Always,” concludes the 1979-born player.
The incident Jeda is referring to kept the Salento-based club on edge for weeks. Lameck Banda failed to show up for the preseason training camp, scheduled for July 21 in Lecce, and completely disappeared without a trace. For over two weeks, no one—neither club officials nor his own agents—had been able to contact him. It was sporting director Stefano Trinchera who broke the silence, speaking publicly about the situation to the *Corriere del Mezzogiorno*: “We haven’t heard from Banda in two weeks now, and neither have his agents. I’m starting to think that this situation isn’t part of some strategy to extract who knows what from Lecce, but rather that there’s some personal issue at play. Unfortunately, we’ve started to lean toward that conclusion as well, because what’s happening is highly unusual.” President Saverio Sticchi Damiani also expressed his concern: “The player has gone off the grid. I don’t know the purpose of this behavior, and I hope there aren’t more serious issues involving him that we’re unaware of.”
Banda was later tracked down and even appeared on social media while training alone. He let it be known that he was fine but had no intention of returning to Lecce. Initially, it was speculated that the Zambian was pushing for a transfer, given the strong interest from Al-Fateh, a Saudi club that had offered a very lucrative contract. Lecce, however, had opposed the transfer. That theory was subsequently ruled out: the Saudi club later made offers for other players in his position, and even Banda’s own agents were unable to contact him, making the idea of a coordinated strategy seem unlikely.
