KC NWSL midfielder is retiring as a player, but she’s not leaving women’s soccer behind
After 18 years with club and country, KC NWSL midfielder Diana Matheson announced her retirement from professional soccer on Wednesday. But she doesn’t plan on leaving the world of women’s soccer entirely just yet.
She hopes to earn her MBA and help build a women’s pro soccer league in her native Canada.
Matheson made her professional debut with the Canadian National Team just before she turned 19 and earned 206 caps with Team Canada, starting in 193. Her international experience includes three World Cups, three Olympics and two Olympic bronze medals (2012, 2016).
“Representing Canada has been the greatest honour of my life,” Matheson said in a statement. “This decision has come somewhat easily, as my body has told me in no uncertain terms it’s time to hang up the boots. I’m ready though — as ready as I can be — and I’m genuinely excited with what lies ahead.”
While Matheson was not on KC NWSL’s active roster, she’d made an imprint in the league since being drafted in 2013 by the Washington Spirit. She led the Spirit to the NWSL campionship match in 2016 and set team records for goals, 26, and assists, 12, in a season.
She played for the Utah Royals — the former FC Kansas City team — from 2018-20 after suiting up for the Seattle Reign in 2017.
“After such a successful career at all levels of the game, this could not have been an easy decision for Diana,” KC NWSL coach Huw Williams said. “Even though she wasn’t able to join us this season, she leaves a great legacy in our league and in the game as a whole. She’s accomplished great things during her career and we wish her the best in her next chapter.”
In a piece for CBC Sports, Matheson described her career as “before London” and “after London.” She said the 2012 Olympic Games “defined her career.”
“London will always be my favourite journey,” she wrote. “Not just for that goal against France, or for the medal, but because of everything that went into it with that group of women — and the women before us. When I got to put the ball in the back of the net against France, I grabbed the Maple Leaf on my jersey in celebration, and I grabbed it because that moment was so much bigger than just our team.”
Matheson plans to get her MBA as a first step toward helping to fortify the Canadian soccer landscape for women. There is no women’s professional league in Canada ... not yet, anyway. Matheson hopes to change that.
“We need to build a bridge,” she wrote. “We need to provide pathways for the 99% of Canadian women who aren’t lucky enough to be identified for our National Team by the age of 15. The ones who are talented enough to play professionally, but leave the game because there are no better options.
“We have the second-highest participation in the world for girls and women, but not enough places for our women to play. This goes for our coaches, too, and referees, and GM’s, and executives, and club presidents. We can create more pathways, and more opportunities, for women and diverse voices to stay involved in sport.”
This story was originally published July 7, 2021 at 12:49 PM with the headline "KC NWSL midfielder is retiring as a player, but she’s not leaving women’s soccer behind."