Loveness Daka Elite Ladies FC: At only 14, Loveness Daka is already moving beyond the category of simply being a promising young footballer. Over the past year, the midfielder has demonstrated why The Elite Ladies FC felt it necessary to secure her future before interest from elsewhere inevitably grows.
Daka has consistently played beyond her age, showing composure, technical quality and tactical maturity against much older opposition.
Breaking Into Senior Football at 13
Daka was only 13 when she broke into the Elite Ladies senior team and began earning starts in Zambia’s top-flight women’s football.
What made the breakthrough particularly impressive was not simply that she was playing senior football at such a young age. She looked comfortable doing it.
Against experienced players, including established internationals, Daka showed the confidence to demand possession and influence matches from midfield. Her ability to dictate tempo, find defence-splitting passes and escape pressure through clever touches, flicks and dribbling quickly marked her out as more than an academy player being given minutes for development.
She was beginning to influence games.
For Elite Ladies, that changes the calculation. Once a young player reaches that level, the question is no longer only about development. The club must also think about protecting the talent it has developed.
Loveness Daka Elite Ladies FC, Player Profile & Career
Leadership Beyond Elite Ladies
Daka’s progress has not been restricted to club football.
She was appointed captain of the Zambia Schools Under-15 Girls National Team, leading Zambia at the CAF African Schools Championship Finals in Harare.
Her performances in schools football have also demonstrated another important quality: temperament.
In July 2026, Daka stepped forward during the penalty shootout for Lusaka Province Schools in the ZANACO Under-17 Grassroots Soccer Tournament and converted the decisive penalty that sent her team into the final.
For a player of her age, being trusted in those moments says almost as much as the technical ability itself.
Why Elite Ladies Had to Act Early
The Elite Ladies FC’s decision to secure Daka on a four-year agreement, with an option for another year, therefore makes considerable football and business sense.
Her rapid rise through senior football and increasing exposure through national schools competitions naturally increases her visibility to other clubs.
Elite Ladies have built part of their football model around identifying young talent, developing those players and gradually integrating them into senior football. Allowing one of their brightest prospects to reach a point where she could leave cheaply would undermine that investment.
Securing Daka until at least 2030 gives the club greater control over the development of a midfielder who could become an important part of its long-term project.
There is another important element to the agreement.
Rather than concentrating exclusively on football, Elite Ladies have incorporated educational support into Daka’s development. The club will support her schooling as she completes her education at Woodlands A Primary and moves into secondary school.
That matters because Daka is still a school-going child despite already competing in senior football.
The objective should therefore not simply be to produce a professional footballer as quickly as possible, but to create an environment in which football development does not come at the expense of education.
COSAFA Could Be the Next Step
The next major milestone could come in December 2026, when the COSAFA Under-17 Championship provides another platform for Zambia’s emerging players.
Whether Daka makes the squad will ultimately be a decision for Zambia Under-17 coach Carol Kanyemba, but her performances at club and schools level are increasingly putting her name into that conversation.
A Zambia Under-17 call-up would also expose her to another level of international football.
For Elite Ladies, that possibility provides another reason why securing her future now rather than later makes sense.
Loveness Daka is still only 14 and there is a long road between outstanding youth prospect and established professional footballer. But if her development over the past year is any indication, Elite Ladies may have acted at exactly the right time.
