Zainab Alema

Otherwise known as The Bulldozer, rugby player Zainab, or Zee as her rugby family call her, wants more women like her to try out the sport. She says there is a real lack of black women, especially who wear hijab, giving the sport a go. Zee talks of how rugby really helps channel aggression and negative feelings and when she leaves the pitch she feels the weight has left her. She says rugby is for everyone, no matter what your size or body type.

Zee is CEO of Studs In The Mud, a project to provide kit and support rugby players at grassroots level in Ghana. She recently visited and personally handed out boots and kit that had been funded through her GoFundMe page. Follow her on Insta @Zeealema or her blog, through zee’s eyes.

Zee is also a neo-natal nurse, caring for premature babies in hospital. She is a mother of 3 and has encouraged two of her sisters to start playing rugby. One of her proudest moments was seeing one of her sisters score her first tri. Zee would love to see more women join the sport and says its so inclusive and welcoming and loves the sisterhood that the sport brings.