Zambian Players Playing Top Football in Europe

As the most watched sport on the planet, football has attracted many fans from a young age to try out this beautiful game. For many years, the bigger countries where this sport was popular were the ones that produced the best players.

But, nowadays, thanks to the internet and the investments made in football throughout the world, that is no longer the case. More and more players from smaller and poorer countries are showing up at the biggest competitions. One such example is Zambia, which we will cover in this article.

The Rise of the Zambian Players

Football in Zambia is played professionally since 1964 when the national team appeared in their first official match organized by FIFA. Since then, they showed some pretty good performances in their matches over the years, especially in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Up until the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, Zambia has managed to reach two quarter-finals, lose two finals, and end up in third place on three occasions.

However, their biggest glory was achieved in 2012, when they won the African Cup of Nations. This massive win has encouraged more young fans to try themselves out in their local football clubs.

Many scouts from the top European leagues are being sent to Zambia with the intention of finding new talented footballers. As a former British colony, Zambian players would often choose the football teams from this region as a place to advance their careers.

Zambian Players That Play in the Top Leagues

There are several good players from Zambia that are playing in the best leagues in Europe. And it is worth mentioning that they are all young and prosperous.

These football players are regular starters for their clubs and are very much appreciated by their fans. Some of them are even prized by bettors who are often wagering on their teams. If you like to bet on the featured players and teams, then you can do that at Parimatch.

Numerous big European clubs also have Zambian teenagers in their academies, which indicates that we will see many new players on the biggest football stage in the future. Below we will mention and describe the best Zambian players that play top football in Europe.

Patson Daka

We start off with Patson Daka, which is currently the best player from Zambia. He is currently playing as a striker for Leicester City in the Premier League, which he joined in 2021 from Red Bull Salzburg for a staggering €30 million.

At Salzburg, he has won every possible trophy and was the top goal scorer in the Austrian Bundesliga with 27 goals. Since joining Leicester City, he has won the English Super Cup and scored 14 goals so far.

He is a very fast and explosive player that causes a lot of trouble in the opponent’s defence. He is only 24 years of age and the future looks bright if he keeps on getting better.

Fashion Sakala

Next up, we have the 25-year-old Fashion Sakala, who’s under contract with Glasgow Rangers. He joined the team in 2021 and he established himself as a very important player that starts almost every match

Sakala is also a striker, but at Rangers, he mostly plays as a right winger, where he can show off his pace and dribbling skills. In his first season at the new club, Sakala was very pleased to win the Scottish Cup.

Before debuting in the Scottish Premier League, Sakala competed in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League with KV Oostende. There he scored 31 goals and assisted 10 times in 102 matches. 

Lameck Banda

Another good Zambian footballer with a nice future ahead of him is Lameck Banda. This 22-year-old left winger plays for Lecce in the Seria A, where he is a regular starter. He joined the club in the 2022 summer transfer period from the Israeli football team Maccabi Petah Tikva.

He is short but extremely fast, which can be of great use for Lecce. Banda started his career at Nkwazi FC before joining ZESCO United FC. 

Not long after that, he was discovered by scouts from Arsenal Tula, who made sure to bring him to Russia. His search for top football wasn’t easy, but in the end, he eventually made it.