Ahead of the 2026-27 season, Electronic Arts (EA) released its latest instalment of the EA Sports FC video game series, FC 27. Formerly known as FIFA, EA Sports FC is one of the most popular video game franchises in the world.
Each year, football fans eagerly anticipate the release of a new edition of the game, anticipating changes to the ratings of their favourite players.
For Zambian gamers, a new release entails a fresh adventure as they get to pick the Zambian stars that will feature in their teams depending on their rating cards.
BolaNews presents the list of the five highest-rated Zambian players, male or female, in the EA Sports FC 27 video game.
Patson Daka misses out on the top five after a difficult final campaign with Leicester City in England. The Chipolopolo striker’s overall rating drops from 72 to 68. Also on 68 are Lubambo Musonda, Kingstone Mutandwa and Miguel Chaiwa.
5. Lameck Banda (Overall Rating: 70)
The tricky winger earned an overall rating of 70 while on the books of Italian Serie A side US Lecce before his shock move to Libya this month. His pace rating of 86 stands out. He also has a decent dribbling rating of 76, corroborating his reputation of leaving defenders in the dust.
Banda had a remarkable campaign with Lecce, scoring the most league goals (5) and providing the most assists (4) as they narrowly survived relegation.
4. Kings Kangwa (Overall Rating: 75)
Having met the minimum overall rating of 75 for a gold card, Kangwa features in the ranking after a golden season with Hapoel Be’er Sheva. After racking up 12 goals and 11 assists in 41 matches across all competitions, the midfielder earned the Israeli Best Player Award, alongside the Israeli Premier League title.
Now at Panathinaikos in Greece, Kangwa is the only Zambian men’s player to have managed ratings of atleast 70 in pace (81), shooting (75), passing (73) and dribbling (79) categories.
3. Fashion Sakala (Overall Rating: 77)
Sakala maintains his status as the highest-rated Zambian men’s player in the EA Sports FC video game. His overall rating has been upgraded from 75 to 77 after another great campaign with Al Fayha in Saudi Arabia.
After tallying 13 goals and five assists in all competitions for Al Fayha, Sakala earned a new contract, which now sees him earn a reported US$4 million per year.
2. Racheal Kundananji (Overall Rating: 81)
Kundananji still sits in the top two, albeit her overall rating dropping from 82 in EA Sports FC 26 to 81 in the latest release. She tallied four goals and as many assists in 24 outings last year.
Her card, however, is one that will get video gamers excited. She is one of the strongest players in the game with a physicality rating of 88 and has amazing dribbling (82), shooting (80) and passing (73).
Kundananji is bound to get a couple of controllers broken with a pace rating of 94, which is the joint-highest in the women’s category. She is basically an equivalent to Kylian Mbappe, who tops the speed rating in the men’s game with a 96 rating.
1. Barbra Banda (Overall Rating: 88)
The title of the highest-rated Zambian player in EA Sports FC 27 belongs to Copper Queens skipper Barbra Banda. She claims the crown for the second year running.
Her overall rating of 88 is only second to Temwa Chawinga’s 89 among African players, male or female. Banda received an upgrade from 85 due to her impressive start to the 2026 NWSL season, where she has registered 12 goals and two assists in 17 matches.
She boasts a pace of 92, shooting of 84, physicality of 88 and dribbling of 80, making her one of the best attacking options in EA Sports FC 27. Elsewhere, Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Alexa Putellas top the overall ratings with 91 each.
