CHICAGO – Megan Rapinoe will bid farewell to international football with no regrets about her time on and off the pitch, she told a news conference on Saturday, ahead of her last game on Sunday.
The 38-year-old highlighted her support of social causes throughout her career.
The striker, who earned recognition not only for being a two-time world champion but also for her activism, gained fame for her advocacy of LGBT+ rights, solidarity with National Football League player Colin Kaepernick and famously confronting former United States president Donald Trump.
“The off-field stuff is what is most meaningful (to me) and I think what I’m most proud of leaving this team and leaving the game,” she said.
“Being so vocal about racial justice or gay rights, I feel like the team really stepped into it and took upon itself to be so much more of what we were on the field and really focus on that.
“We’ve been a very special generation of players, but I think it says a lot about us that everything we’ve accomplished on the field pales in comparison to what we’ve done off the field.”
The striker has scored 63 goals in 202 appearances for the national team before her farewell match in Chicago, having helped the US win titles at the 2015 and 2019 Women’s World Cups and the 2012 London Olympics.
Although Rapinoe will say goodbye to the US national team on Sunday when they face South Africa in a friendly, she shows no signs of retiring from public life.
She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honour, by President Joe Biden in 2022.
“I’m very excited to continue to be a part of the growth of women’s sport, not just football. I think we are at a very special time.
“I want to use my platform and my leverage, but now I’ll have more time to do that.”
This is the US’ second match of a double-header against South Africa.
The Americans won 3-0 in Cincinnati last Thursday in the farewell match for long-time US midfielder Julie Ertz, Rapinoe’s teammate in the 2015 and 2019 Women’s World Cup squads.
Rapinoe was enthusiastic about the future of the squad, the potential of the new generation and the growth of the team's culture as part of her activism legacy.
She highlighted players Naomi Girma, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith, particularly Girma's focus on mental health advocacy.
Rapinoe will play her final National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) regular season game with the OL Reign on Oct 6 against the Washington Spirit in Seattle.
In 11 seasons with the Reign, she helped them reach the NWSL finals twice, losing to Kansas City in 2014 and 2015. REUTERS, AFP
