Last season left debates among Zambians following Leicester city striker Patson Daka’s debut Premier League goal against Manchester United which was widely recognized as the first goal ever scored by a Zambian in the English top flight league. Some argued that there have been other Zambians who achieved the feat before him.
WHO WAS THE FIRST ZAMBIAN TO PLAY IN ENGLAND?
The first Zambian players to play in England were Freddie Mwila and Emment Kapengwe who were signed by Aston villa football club on the 17th October 1969 after impressing in the United States at Atalanta chiefs FC.
According to the Aston Villa archives, 23-year-old Mwila caught Aston villa’s eye after scoring three goals for Atlanta chiefs against Manchester city in two consecutive friendly matches.
Mwila and his countrymate Emment Kapengwe who was 27 years old then, were later signed by Aston Villa and become the first Zambian internationals to play for an English club.
Kapengwe played just three games for villa and Mwila only one before Villa were relegated to Division 3 for the first time. Both returned to Zambia at the end of the 1969/70 season, nine months after arriving in England.
The two never played in the English top flight league as they only featured for Aston villa in the lower division.
WHO WAS THE FIRST ZAMBIAN TO PLAY IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE?
- NEIL GREGORY
According to the English Premier League records, striker Neil Gregory is recognized as the first Zambian to play in the English top flight league.
Gregory was born in Ndola on the Copperbelt province of Zambia in 1972 from English parents.
He is recognized as the first player of Zambian descent to play in the English Premier League with Ipswich city in the 1991/1990 season.
He made only three appearances for Ipswich city and never scored or assisted in the Premier league.
2.COLLINS MBESUMA
The second Zambian to play in the English premier league was Collins Mbesuma.
In 2005, Mbesuma was signed by Portsmouth from South African club Kaizer Chiefs under manager Alain Perrin who was impressed with his performance in the South African league.
He was signed on a three-year contract but due to work permit glitches, he trained with the Portsmouth U18 team during his first season at the club before he was loaned to Portuguese club Maritimo FC for a season-long loan during the 2006/2007 season.
Mbesuma returned to Portsmouth after his loan spell in Portugal and only made four appearances for the English club’s main team, all coming from the bench as he never started a match in the 2007-08 Premier League season before he was later sold to Turkish club Bursaspor.
He is, however, the first indigenous Zambian to play in the English Premier League but never scored.
3. EMMANUEL MAYUKA
The third Zambian to play in the English top flight league was former Africa cup of nations golden boot winner, Emmanuel Mayuka.
Mayuka became the third Zambian to play in the English Premier League after he joined Southampton in 2012 following his brilliant performance at the 2012 African cup of Nations where Zambia emerged Champions for the first time..
He made 16 appearances in the Premier League but never scored in any of the matches with a total of 272 minutes of game time.
Mayuka only managed to score one goal for Southampton in the League cup under manager Ronald Koeman before he was removed from the first team in 2015, having failed to score in any of his 16 league appearances for the club.
4. PATSON DAKA & ENOCK MWEPU
The fourth and fifth Zambian players to play in the Premier League are Patson Daka and Enock Mwepu after over a decade and both have already scored for their clubs.
Mwepu and Daka made their debuts last season after they were both signed from Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg by Brighton and Hove Albion FC and Leicester city FC respectively.
Daka opened his scoring account against Manchester United FC at the King Power Stadium. The 23-year-old and 2017 CAF Best Young African footballer of the year award winner, became the first Zambian to score in the English top flight league when Leicester city defeated United 4-2.
The second Zambian to score in the Premier League is Enock Mwepu, who also scored his debut goal last season against Liverpool at Anfield with a shot from range in a match that ended 2-2.
Daka finished the season with 5 goals and 3 assists in 23 Premier League appearances and has so far scored 1 goal and provided 1 assist this season in 6 appearances while Mwepu scored 2 goals and provided 4 assists in 18 league appearances and has also contributed with an assist this season in his first six appearances.
