The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Zambia

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This page contains a list of the greatest Zambian Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 19 of which were born in Zambia. This makes Zambia the birth place of the 82nd most number of Soccer Players behind Guinea, and Burkina Faso.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Zambian Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Zambian Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Zambian Soccer Players.

Photo of Godfrey Chitalu

1. Godfrey Chitalu (1947 - 1993)

With an HPI of 55.91, Godfrey Chitalu is the most famous Zambian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.

Godfrey Chitalu (22 October 1947 – 27 April 1993), nicknamed Ucar, was a Zambian footballer who played as a forward. He is widely regarded as the greatest Zambian player of all time as he holds his national team's goalscoring record and was voted Zambian footballer of the year five times. In 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 African footballers of the past 50 years. The Football Association of Zambia claimed that Chitalu scored more than 100 goals in all competitions in 1972, more than Gerd Müller's total in the same year and Lionel Messi's total in 2012, both of which are often referred to by journalist as "world records". The research was presented in the year 2012 after Lionel Messi broke the alleged world record of Gerd Müller. Nevertheless, a FIFA spokesman declared that an official FIFA world record had never existed as they did not keep track of domestic competitions. Upon retirement, Chitalu took to coaching and was in charge of the Zambia national team when the entire squad perished in a plane crash off the coast of Gabon on 27 April 1993.

Photo of Kalusha Bwalya

2. Kalusha Bwalya (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 50.24, Kalusha Bwalya is the 2nd most famous Zambian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Kalusha Bwalya (born 16 August 1963) is a Zambian former professional footballer. He is Zambia's eighth-most capped player and third on the list of all-time top goalscorers behind Godfrey Chitalu and Alex Chola. Kalusha was named African Footballer of the Year in 1988 by the magazine France Football and was nominated for the 1996 FIFA World Player of the Year where he was voted the 12th-best player in the world, the first to be nominated after playing the entire year for a non-European club. His older brother Benjamin Bwalya played professional football, and his younger brother Joel Bwalya also played for Zambia. His cousin is former Cardiff City and Welsh national team member Robert Earnshaw. His career as a player, coach and president of the Football Association of Zambia is partly shown in the documentary film "Eighteam". On 20 March 2016, Kalusha lost the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) elections in an upset to businessman-turned football official Andrew Kamanga by 163 to 156 votes. In August 2018, the world soccer governing body FIFA banned Bwalya for two years from all football-related activities at both national and international level. The FIFA adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee found him guilty of having violated article 16 (Confidentiality) and article 20 (Offering and accepting gifts and other benefits) of the FIFA Code of Ethics. It is alleged that Bwalya received a bribe in the form of a gift from Mohammed Bin Hammam, a Qatari official. Kalusha is considered one of the greatest players in Zambian football history.

Photo of Patson Daka

3. Patson Daka (b. 1998)

With an HPI of 37.45, Patson Daka is the 3rd most famous Zambian Soccer Player.  Her biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Patson Daka (born 9 October 1998) is a Zambian professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Leicester City and the Zambia national team. Daka's career trajectory began within the youth system, where he showcased his abilities playing for local club Kafue Celtic. Subsequently, he was sent on loan to Nchanga Rangers and Power Dynamos, where he was able to further hone his skills. In January 2017, Daka joined Red Bull Salzburg's reserve team Liefering in Austria, and was then made part of the first team in the following summer. He helped Salzburg win four Austrian Bundesliga titles and three Austrian Cups. In summer 2021, Daka joined Leicester City in the Premier League. Daka made his senior international debut for Zambia in 2015 at the age of 16.

Photo of Emmanuel Mayuka

4. Emmanuel Mayuka (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 37.03, Emmanuel Mayuka is the 4th most famous Zambian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Emmanuel Mayuka (born 21 November 1990) is a Zambian professional footballer who plays as a striker for the NAPSA Stars and the Zambia national team. He was the top scorer of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

Photo of Christopher Katongo

5. Christopher Katongo (b. 1982)

With an HPI of 36.85, Christopher Katongo is the 5th most famous Zambian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Christopher Katongo (born 31 August 1982) is a Zambian former professional footballer who played as a striker. At international level, he amassed over 100 caps between 2003 and 2016 for the Zambia national team. He is an Africa Cup of Nations winner and won the BBC's African Footballer of the Year award in 2012, winning just over 40% of the public vote. His win is stated to have inspired a number of young players in Zambia.

Photo of Guus Til

6. Guus Til (b. 1997)

With an HPI of 34.39, Guus Til is the 6th most famous Zambian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Guus Berend Til (born 22 December 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Eredivisie club PSV and the Netherlands national team. Til was born in Samfya, Zambia, where his father worked in the development field. He moved to the Netherlands at age 3, as his family settled in the Bijlmermeer neighbourhood of Amsterdam. Til is a youth exponent from AZ. He made his professional debut on 4 August 2016 as a substitute in a UEFA Europa League play-off match against PAS Giannina, replacing Joris van Overeem after 71 minutes. On 5 August 2019, Spartak Moscow announced they had signed Guus Til from AZ for a reported transfer fee of €18 million (the third highest transfer fee in club history at the time). He also signed a four-year contract with the club. In his Russian Premier League debut on 11 August 2019 against Akhmat Grozny, he provided 2 assists in a 3–1 victory. He scored his first goal for Spartak on 25 August 2019 in an away game against Krylia Sovetov Samara, when his added-time goal gave his team a 2–1 comeback away victory. On 3 September 2020, Til joined Bundesliga side SC Freiburg on a season-long loan with option to buy. On 2 June 2021, Til extended his contract with Spartak until 31 May 2024 and was loaned to Feyenoord for the 2021–22 season. Spartak held an option to terminate his loan early if he appeared in fewer than half of all official games for Feyenoord up until 1 January 2022. On 29 July 2021, Til scored a hat-trick against FC Drita of Kosovo in the second qualifying round for the inaugural edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League. On 3 October, Til was named the Eredivisie Player of the Month for September following four goals in three league matches for Feyenoord, which all ended in victory for the Rotterdam club. On 4 July 2022, Til signed a four-year contract with PSV. Til scored a hat-trick on his debut for the club, a 5–3 win over rivals Ajax in the Johan Cruyff Shield on 30 July. Til was a youth international for the Netherlands. In March 2018, Til earned from Ronald Koeman his debut international call-up to the Netherlands national team. He made his debut coming on as a substitute for Kenny Tete in the 78th minute of a 3–0 friendly win against Portugal on 26 March 2018. In May 2021, the Football Association of Zambia had confirmed they had contacted Til over a possible switch of international allegiance. Zambia head coach Milutin Sredojević stated that Til was still undecided on his future. Til returned to the Netherlands national team in September 2021 scoring his first goal in a 6–1 win over Turkey. As of match played 26 May 2024 As of match played 8 June 2022 Scores and results list the Netherlands's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Til goal. Feyenoord UEFA Europa Conference League runner-up: 2021–22 PSV Eredivisie: 2023–24 KNVB Cup: 2022–23 Johan Cruyff Shield: 2022, 2023 Individual Eredivisie Player of the Month: September 2021 Eredivisie Team of the Month: September 2021, April 2023 Profile at the PSV Eindhoven website Profile at the Royal Dutch Football Association website (in Dutch) Guus Til – UEFA competition record (archive)

Photo of Jacob Mulenga

7. Jacob Mulenga (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 34.27, Jacob Mulenga is the 7th most famous Zambian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Jacob Mulenga (born 12 February 1984) is a Zambian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Mulenga started his footballing career at age 18 with hometown club Afrisport, before moving to Châteauroux in 2004. Five years later, he moved to FC Utrecht where he made his definitive breakthrough but also suffered two serious knee injuries. After successful stints in Turkey and China, Mulenga returned to the Netherlands in 2020 where he signed for Go Ahead Eagles. Between 2004 and 2014, he made 41 appearances scoring nine goals for the Zambia national team.

Photo of Kennedy Mweene

8. Kennedy Mweene (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 31.43, Kennedy Mweene is the 8th most famous Zambian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Kennedy Mweene (born 11 December 1984) is a retired Zambian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. On club level he spent most of his career in South African Premier Soccer League clubs Free State Stars and Mamelodi Sundowns. For the Zambia national team, he is the most capped player, having represented Zambia more than 120 times.

Photo of James Chamanga

9. James Chamanga (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 30.53, James Chamanga is the 9th most famous Zambian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

James Chamanga (born 2 February 1980) is a Zambian professional football who plays as a striker for Red Arrows.

Photo of Felix Katongo

10. Felix Katongo (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 30.09, Felix Katongo is the 10th most famous Zambian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Felix Katongo (born 18 April 1984) is a Zambian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Green Buffaloes. Between 2004 and 2016, he made 68 FIFA-official appearances scoring 5 goals for the Zambia national team. His older brother Christopher was also an international player.

People

Pantheon has 38 people classified as Zambian soccer players born between 1947 and 2004. Of these 38, 37 (97.37%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Zambian soccer players include Kalusha Bwalya, Patson Daka, and Emmanuel Mayuka. The most famous deceased Zambian soccer players include Godfrey Chitalu. As of April 2024, 19 new Zambian soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Felix Katongo, Fashion Sakala, and Barbra Banda.

Living Zambian Soccer Players

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Deceased Zambian Soccer Players

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Newly Added Zambian Soccer Players (2024)

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