The youth movement is alive and well in North American soccer.
Just over a week after Cavan Sullivan made his MLS debut at age 14 to become the youngest pro athlete in the top North American sports leagues, the National Women’s Soccer League has made history of its own.
NJ/NY Gotham FC, the league’s reigning champion, signed 13-year-old McKenna “Mak” Whitham to a three-year deal, making her the youngest signing in league history.
A NJ/NY Gotham FC corner flag during the first half of an NWSL Challenge Cup game against the San Diego Wave FC March 15, 2024, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Whitham turns 14 Saturday.
“I processed it, and it’s still new to me,” Whitham told ESPN. “But, I mean, I’m not going to be cocky about it. I’m going to stay humble, and I’m still going to keep developing. My goal is to be a top player in the NWSL, and I know that Gotham will help me become that player.”
Although the contract won’t become effective until January, because six of the team’s members are in Paris for the Olympics, the team has actually named her a replacement player, meaning she could play for Gotham this weekend.
If she does play, she’d become the youngest player in a major sports league in North America since at least 1970.
The Statue of Liberty flame prior to an NWSL game against the San Diego Wave June 4, 2023, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. (Getty Images)
“The on-the-field is the easiest part of this, I think, and the quickest for us to kind of evaluate and know how to support her,” Gotham general manager Yael Averbuch West said. “But we’ve undertaken a really robust process in terms of making sure that this is the right thing in her life, socially, mentally and in every possible way.”
Whitham dressed and played for the team as a non-roster invitee earlier this year in a tournament in Colombia, scoring the lone goal in a victory against Deportivo Cali. Gotham won the tournament.
The club decided to make the contract begin in 2025, so Whitham can get more of a taste of pro soccer in the NWSL x Liga MX Summer Cup.
“She’s going to still be with us through this year and be able to train and continue to develop and then kind of step up into the environment come preseason to fight for her opportunity on our roster,” Averbuch West said. “We felt like that was the most appropriate progression.”
The NWSL logo on the field video board prior to a National Women’s Soccer League game April 14, 2024, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“We have spent a long time not just evaluating Mak as a player, but actually also evaluating our ability to support Mak and to create a safe and fulfilling environment for her,” Averbuch West added.
“I’d seen myself as a really good player, but, also, there’s a lot to improve on, and I knew that I could accomplish it,” Whitham said. “And I think that it’s a lot of hard work, self-belief.”
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