The first female photographer in the Premier League

In the 1990s Magi Haroun became the first female football photographer in the Premier League.

She had begun her career in footballing photography in 1986 after growing up with close connections to Manchester United.

Her uncle was the club’s chairman from 1965 until 1980, and she had a good relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson during his tenure as manager.

She spoke to Tim O’Callaghan in 2025 about embarking on a career in a male-dominated field.

She also revealed the unlikely story of how she rescued a cat from Manchester United’s training ground.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.

Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.

(Photo: Magi at work. Credit: Handout via Magi Haroun.