Alex Morgan announced her official retirement from football on Thursday morning via an emotional video posted across social media.
The 35-year-old bids farewell to an outstanding career, having become one of the greatest USA players to ever wear the starts and stripes. Morgan made 224 international appearances for the US Women’s National Team, scoring 123 goals and making 53 assists. The combined numbers have her ranked as the fifth all time contributor in USA history.
The stats only become more impressive when marked by the fact that the USA have never lost a game in which Morgan has scored a goal in. The star striker has scored in 76 wins, 10 draws, and 0 losses.
Two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup winner and two-time Olympic gold medalist, Alex Morgan bids farewell to women’s soccer as one of the most decorated stars of all time.
Trailblazer for Change
We could spend time waxing lyrical about Morgan’s accolades for pages, but it has always been her persistent desire to use her platform for positive change, that has set her apart from the other superstars.
After winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015, Morgan and four other USWNT players filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in regards to the severe pay difference between themselves and their male counterparts. The complaint would go to court in 2019, where Morgan herself acted as the lead plaintiff for the matter. During the battle, Morgan would then go on to lift a second consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup, just months after the legal proceedings would head underway.
It wouldn’t be until 2022 when the push for equal pay would formally be recognised, to which Morgan spoke in 2023: “A Trinity Rodman or a Sophia Smith, they’re going to reap all the benefits we fought so hard for.”
“That’s why I did it, so the next generation won’t have to fight for equality and for equal conditions and for what should have been there but wasn’t. I’m really proud of the fight.”
Morgan was instrumental in pushing for the NWSL’s first anti-harassment policy, in which she rallied 240 players across the league to demand the instillation of a new policy to protect those athletes playing on American soil.
A push for human rights
In 2023, the US star spoke in direct support of transgender kids having equal access in sports, expressing “The inclusion of trans kids in sports is the inclusion of kids in sports. Everyone should have the ability to play sport, and the fact that it’s being taken into politics so big is really sad. And I think it’s at the cost of trans kids’ lives.”
“This team, we’ve always been very vocal with where we stand and I think we’ll continue to do that. ”
Heading into the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, rumours surrounded a possible sponsorship deal between the Saudi Tourism Authorities and the tournament.
Denouncing the prospect, Morgan expressed, “ I think that what Saudi Arabia can do is put efforts into their women’s team that was just formed only a couple of years ago and doesn’t even have a current ranking within the FIFA ranking system because of the few games that they’ve played. So that would be my advice to them. And I really hope that FIFA does the right thing.”
The deal later folded as the tournament hosts were ‘concerned’ about the human rights record of Saudi Arabia.
Thank you and Farewell
Morgan was a superstar. One of the best forwards to ever play the world’s game. But she was much more than just a footballer.
Pioneering for the necessary changes and using her growing status to fight for fair treatment and respect of female athletes is exactly what Morgan did during her 15 year career, and to that we can only profess our upmost thanks to the legend that closes the book her football journey today.
All of the young girls and now-adults can set aside their pink headbands, as Alex Morgan has now paved way for the next generation to play women’s soccer without any room for forgiveness.
