Who is Faria Alam and what has she said about her affair with Sven-Goran Eriksson?
FARIA Alam shot to fame in the noughties when it was revealed that she’d had an affair with the Three Lions manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.
The former secretary will talk about her fling with Sven in his self-titled Amazon Prime doc.
Who is Faria Alam?
Born in Dhaka, East Pakistan on February 13, 1966, Faria Alam is a former Football Association secretary.
When she was young, her family emigrated to the UK, living in Manchester, Bradford, Newcastle and London.
After modelling and working as an administrator, in July 2003, she took a job as personal assistant to FA executive director David Davies.
Faria had a secret affair with the former England boss in 2004.
The fling went on while he was dating Italian lawyer Nancy Dell’Olio, and after another affair with TV star Ulrika Jonsson.
Shortly after her affair with Sven-Goran Erikkson was exposed, she left the FA.
It’s not known when they decided to call it quits, but the affair went on throughout 2004.
In his autobiography, Eriksson said he “never regretted” his romance with Faria.
In 2006, Faria appeared on Celebrity Big Brother.
She now lives in the United States and is out of the spotlight.
What has Faria Alam said about her affair with Sven-Goran Eriksson?
Sven is releasing a self-titled documentary on Amazon Prime which will look at his life in the spotlight, plus his battle with cancer.
Talking about their affair on the doc, Faria says: “The noughties were just that, they were naughty. You could do so many things.
“I’ll be honest, I was a beautiful girl and I attracted a lot of attention.
“He said, ‘Tell your story, go and tell them everything. Make some money, why not?’.”
Describing their relationship she said: “He didn’t have the mindset of a super-rich man.
“He talked to me about poetry, he talked to me about art. He was saying how he did yoga and things like that.
“And I just fell in love with him, I guess. And that lit the fuse for all this to explode!”
After his cancer diagnosis, she passed on a message to him through the Swedish publication Expressen which read: “I’m sorry for the news, dear Sven, and I send you nothing but love and healing, for your circumstances.
“Your courage to ‘accept’ your predicament makes me continue to admire you, and even more. And again, all the love to you. God bless you. Faria.”
How to watch Sven documentary
The documentary about the former England boss is to be released on Amazon Prime.
It will air on Friday August 23, 2024.
Sven’s family, friends and former England players pay tribute to him in the film.
Sven-Goran Eriksson's managerial career
AS Sven-Goran Eriksson bravely continues to battle cancer, SunSport takes a look at his remarkable managerial career...
PROMISING START
It began in Sweden in 1977 where he won the third division with Degerfors, before he joined Gothenburg and won two Swedish Cups and the Uefa Cup.
He then took over at Benfica in 1982 and spent two seasons with the Portuguese giants where he won back-to-back league titles.
INCREDIBLE ITALIAN SUCCESS
Stints followed in Italy with Roma and Fiorentina, but he returned to Benfica in 1989 and reached the European Cup final before losing to AC Milan.
Eriksson claimed a third league title with Benfica the following year, leaving in 1992 for Sampdoria.
He spent five seasons with the Serie A side, winning the Copa Italia in 1994.
Eriksson then added another two Coppa Italias to his trophy cabinet with Lazio across a four-year spell.
ENGLAND APPOINTMENT
Then came the England job in 2001 where he spent five years at the helm of the national side.
He reached the quarter-finals of World Cup 2002, losing 2-1 to eventual winners Brazil.
England then suffered back-to-back eliminations at the hands of Portugal at Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006.
PREMIER LEAGUE SPELLS
After leaving the Three Lions following his third major tournament, he spent one season at Manchester City.
Spells followed at Mexico, Ivory Coast and Leicester, before he moved to China where he coached three clubs across a four-year period.
His last managerial stint came for the Philippines national team, a position he held from October 2018 to January 2019.
MAJOR HONOURS
Portugal League title x 3 (Benfica 82/83, 83/84, 90/91)
Copa Italia x 4 (Roma 85/86, Sampdoria 93/94, Lazio 97/98, 99/00)
Serie A title (Lazio 99/00)
Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup (Lazio 98/99)
Uefa Super Cup (Lazio 99)
BBC Sports Personality Coach of the Year (England 2001)