Patson Daka (born 9 October 1998) is a Zambian professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
for club
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
and the
Zambia national team.
Coming through the youth system, Daka played for local club
Kafue Celtic, who sent him on loan to
Nchanga Rangers
Nchanga Rangers is a Zambian football club based in Chingola that plays in the MTN/FAZ Super Division. They play their home games at Nchanga Stadium in Chingola.
The club is sponsored by Konkola Copper Mines.
Achievements
* Zambian Premier ...
and
Power Dynamos. In January 2017, Daka joined
Red Bull Salzburg's reserve team
Liefering in Austria, and was then made part of the first team in summer 2017. He helped Red Bull Salzburg win four
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...
titles and three
Austrian Cups. In summer 2021, Daka joined Leicester City in the Premier League.
Daka represents Zambia internationally, making his senior debut in 2015 aged 16.
Club career
Early career
Daka began his youth career at
Kafue Celtic, joining their under-12s, before moving on to the under-14s in 2007, and to the under-17s in 2010.
In summer 2014, Daka was sent on a one-year loan to
Nchanga Rangers
Nchanga Rangers is a Zambian football club based in Chingola that plays in the MTN/FAZ Super Division. They play their home games at Nchanga Stadium in Chingola.
The club is sponsored by Konkola Copper Mines.
Achievements
* Zambian Premier ...
in the
Zambia Super League
The Zambia Super League, known as the MTN Super League for sponsorship purposes, is the top association football league created in 1962 by the Football Association of Zambia. The winners of the league each season receives ZMW500,000 ($26,414.20) ...
.
He was then loaned out to
Power Dynamos in summer 2015. Before that, he did some practice sessions with
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
but finally didn't sign with the French side. At
Dynamos, he ended the season as the club's top scorer with 12 goals.
Liefering
Daka initially moved to Austria when he signed with
Liefering on a half-season loan from Kafue Celtic.
Red Bull Salzburg
Daka signed with
Red Bull Salzburg in 2017.
He helped the club win the
UEFA Youth League
The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the youth teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League ...
, scoring two goals in two games. On 27 November, Daka scored against
Genk
Genk () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. I ...
in the
2019–20 UEFA Champions League
The 2019–20 UEFA Champions League was the 65th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 28th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
Bayern Munich d ...
, becoming the first Zambian player to score in the competition's group stage.
On 18 December 2019, Daka extended his contract with Salzburg until the summer of 2024.
On 30 September 2020, he scored a brace in a 3–1 win over
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...
in the play-off round to qualify to the
2020–21 UEFA Champions League
The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League was the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
Chelsea defeat ...
. On 21 May 2021, Daka was named Austrian Bundesliga player of the season after registering 27 goals in 28 games, as the club won their fourth successive league title.
Leicester City
![Patson Daka vs Spartak Moscow 2021 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Patson_Daka_vs_Spartak_Moscow_2021_%28cropped%29.jpg)
On 30 June 2021, Daka signed for
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
club
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
on a five-year contract,
for a reported fee of £23 million. Daka made his debut for the club with an appearance off the bench in Leicester's
1–0 triumph over reigning Premier League champions
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
in the
FA Community Shield
The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
on 7 August. On 23 August, Daka made his Premier League debut as a substitute for
Harvey Barnes
Harvey Lewis Barnes (born 9 December 1997) is an English professional association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), winger for club Leicester City F.C., Leicester City.
Early life
Barnes was born in Burnley, L ...
in a 4–1 away defeat to
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
.
On 16 October, he scored his first goal for Leicester City in a 4–2 win against
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
at
King Power Stadium
King Power Stadium (also known as the Leicester City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations and formerly known as the Walkers Stadium) is a football stadium in Leicester, England. It has been the home of Premier League club Leicester City ...
. He followed this up on 20 October by scoring all four goals in a 4–3 win over
Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia:
* FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club
* HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team
* Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club
* WB ...
in the
2021–22 UEFA Europa League
The 2021–22 UEFA Europa League was the 51st season of Europe's secondary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 13th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
Eintracht Frankf ...
, becoming the first Leicester player to score 4 in a game since 1958.
On 25 November 2021, Daka became Leicester's all-time leading goalscorer in European competition by scoring in a 3–1 Europa League victory over
Legia Warsaw
Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning record 15 Ekstraklasa champions titles, a ...
.
International career
Daka made his senior debut for
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
in a 2–0 friendly victory over
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
on 10 May 2015. He was the 2017
CAF Young Player of the Year.
Personal life
Daka's father, Nathtali Daka, was a former footballer who played as a
winger for local club Kafue-based Nitrogen Stars. He is a devout
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Zambia's goal tally first.''
Honours
![Meistertl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Meistertl._28.jpg)
Red Bull Salzburg Youth
*
UEFA Youth League
The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the youth teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League ...
:
2016–17
Red Bull Salzburg
*
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...
:
2017–18,
2018–19,
2019–20,
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
*
Austrian Cup
The Austrian Cup (german: ÖFB-Cup), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for 27th t ...
:
2018–19,
2019–20,
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
Leicester City
*
FA Community Shield
The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
:
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
Zambia U20
*
Africa U-20 Cup of Nations
The U-20 Africa Cup of Nations also called TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsoring reason (previously known as the African Youth Championship or the African U-20 Championship) is the main international youth football competition ...
:
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
*
COSAFA U-20 Cup:
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
Individual
* Africa U-20 Cup of Nations Best Player:
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
* Africa U-20 Cup of Nations Best XI:
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
*
CAF Youth Player of the Year: 2017
*
Zambia Super League
The Zambia Super League, known as the MTN Super League for sponsorship purposes, is the top association football league created in 1962 by the Football Association of Zambia. The winners of the league each season receives ZMW500,000 ($26,414.20) ...
Young Player of the Year: 2014,
2016
* Zambia Sportsman of the Year: 2017
* Austrian Bundesliga Team of the Season:
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
* Austrian Bundesliga Player of the Season:
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
*
Austrian Bundesliga Top scorer:
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daka, Patson
1998 births
Living people
People from Chingola
Zambian Christians
Zambian footballers
Zambia youth international footballers
Zambia under-20 international footballers
Zambia international footballers
Association football forwards
Kafue Celtic F.C. players
Green Buffaloes F.C. players
Power Dynamos F.C. players
FC Liefering players
FC Red Bull Salzburg players
Leicester City F.C. players
Zambia Super League players
2. Liga (Austria) players
Austrian Football Bundesliga players
Premier League players
2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations players
Zambian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Austria
Expatriate footballers in England
Zambian expatriate sportspeople in Austria
Zambian expatriate sportspeople in England
Zambia A' international footballers
2016 African Nations Championship players