USWNT and Gotham FC defender Kerry O'Hara announced Thursday that he will retire at the end of the 2024 NWSL season, which ends in October.
O'Hara, 35, announced the news exclusively through Just Women's Sports in both an article and a special “Kelly on the Street” YouTube video in which she asks people she meets on the street about retirement.
“I've always said I'll play under two conditions: I still love playing football and I let my body do what it wants,” O'Hara said. She told Women's Sports. “A while ago I realized that I was going to love it for the rest of my life, so the physics was the deciding factor.”
O'Hara said he seriously considered his future once the 2023 NWSL season ended, but hasn't given much thought since making the decision to transfer.
“Once I was like, 'Okay, this is going to be my last year,' I was very calm,” she said. “Really all I felt was gratitude for the career I've had, the things I've been able to do, and the people I've worked with.”
O'Hara has been playing high-level soccer since childhood. She began her career representing the United States as part of her U-16 team in 2004 and was set to continue her career until the 2023 Women's World Cup. She was part of the USWNT's golden era along with Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd, but that era just recently came to an end.
But there was a reason it was a golden age. As a member of that team, O'Hara was a two-time World Cup champion, an Olympic gold medalist, a three-time CONCACAF Women's Champion, and a five-time SheBelieves Cup champion. She has also won the NWSL Championship twice.
As for what her future holds, O'Hara doesn't yet know. But she knows she wants to stay close to the game she loves so she can give back to the next generation.
“I feel like I have a lot of passion and things that excite me,” she said. “And I want to be as close to the game as possible because I feel a responsibility to continue to grow the game, and I don't know in what capacity that is.”
