Meet the Southampton businesswoman who has been teaching English to some of Saints' top players.

Since 2022, Fatima Zaman has taught some of Southampton FC’s most exciting foreign talents and their families, including Moussa Djenepo, Carlos Alcaraz, Romain Perraud and Lyanco Vojnovic.

Fatima Zaman is a CELTA qualified English teacher who, a few years ago, moved from London to Southampton after falling in love with the local greenery and parks.

She speaks Spanish and French, and teaches English through her website englishchatcafe.com.

She was approached in late 2022 by a Saints representative to begin tutoring some of the players.

New transfers face a huge challenge: moving here as young men from foreign countries, some with no English at all, and needing to not only understand the language on the pitch and in the dressing room, but almost immediately begin giving interviews to the press.

It is Fatima’s job to try and make this challenging process easier.

Her first student was Brazilian centre back Lyanco, who is currently on loan in Qatar.

Fatima helped prepare him for the ‘Leave-to-Remain’ visa exam, which he passed with flying colours.

In January 2023, Carlos ‘Charlie’ Alacaraz arrived from Argentina, with absolutely no knowledge of English.

Fatima took him through an intensive course, teaching him in the afternoons after training finished in the morning.

She also gave recommendations to Carlos and his girlfriend for where to visit on his days off, she said.

Fatima has also worked with Moussa Djenepo and Romain Perraud, as well as the player’s wives or girlfriends, and in some cases parents or children.

She confessed that she used to “hate football”.

But after spending time with the players, who have taught her about the tactics and hard work that goes into the game, she gained a new appreciation for the sport.

Fatima was highly complimentary of all the players she has worked with – describing them as “lovely, down to earth, and extremely humble". 

She also added that they all handed in their homework on time!

Fatima commended the club’s open-minded attitude, pointing in particular to the recent Iftar celebrations at St Marys.

She said that the fact that the club chose a British-Asian as their language teacher just goes to show “how multicultural and open-minded they really are".

As well as teaching English, Fatima also runs a successful Indian cooking sauce business, which has been nominated for an industry award.