Kansas City Current soccer player Desiree Scott announced her retirement, effective after the National Women’s Soccer League’s 2024 season, in an Instagram post Thursday morning.
Scott, 37, has made more than 100 appearances with the KC Current and, before that, FC Kansas City.
“Your girl is tired,” Scott said with a smile in the Instagram video.
In an interview with The Star, Scott shared her reasoning behind the “bittersweet” decision.
“It has been something that’s been on my mind for years … but I couldn’t stay away,” she said.
Scott has played soccer professionally for more than 14 years, with stints in Canada and England. In the U.S., she helped spur the growth of the NWSL.
But the last year’s been especially difficult. She battled back from a knee injury that required surgery during the 2022 offseason. She wanted to represent Canada in the 2023 World Cup but couldn’t return in time.
She missed the 2023 NWSL season, and the target for her return was moved to opening day at CPKC Stadium this past March. Then she missed that game to mourn the death of her mother.
Scott eventually played for the Current this season, though, proving she could make a comeback. And that’s been good enough.
“I just think it’s been a culmination of a really hard year and a half that has kind of made it seem like, ‘OK, at the end of this season, I’m good to hang them up,’” she said.
Scott played with FCKC in 2013 and returned for stints in 2016 and 2017 before the club moved to Utah. She joined the Current in 2021.
She calls Kansas City home now.
“I’m one of the very fortunate people to have not been on too many NWSL teams,” she said with a chuckle.
Scott has endeared herself to fans in KC. Her pre-game introductions at CPKC Stadium are followed by thunderous roars every time she steps on the field. And it’s been that way for years.
Scott was also part of the “Shawnee Mission North” era for women’s pro soccer: FCKC played its games at a local high school stadium. She used to get changed before matches in her car — a far cry from the full-fledged training facilities and home stadium the Current enjoys now.
Scott helped cultivate major changes in the sport, and right here in Kansas City. She’s proud to see a mural greet visitors at the new airport, and that the Current’s merchandise is available pretty much anywhere you look these days.
“We are a brand now, and I think we’re a fan favorite,” she said. “I’m seeing people on the streets rocking our KC Current. (Fans) come up to you more often, like it’s something very prevalent and in your face now, which is great to see.”
On the field, Scott’s nickname has been “The Destroyer.” She can put in a tackle and fights for every loose ball, waiting to spring a counter-attack.
She reads the game, can control the tempo and sets the tone. It’s why she was the team captain in Kansas City for so long.
Off the field, teammates appreciate her smile and ability to bring joy to those around her.
“I do daily try to lead my life in a place of making someone’s day better,” she said.
The Current has one more regular-season match, a road game and the Summer Cup final, all in the next three weeks. Then comes the NWSL postseason.
Scott captained the 2022 Current squad that fell agonizingly short in the NWSL Championship Game. She missed the two league titles won by FC Kansas City because she was playing in England at the time.
She’s hoping this year’s KC Current club can end its season — and her career — with an NWSL ring.
“Our team is capable,” she said. “So to be able to do that at home, it would just be a full circle moment … To hang it up with a ring on the finger, man, what a dream that would be.”
The Current’s final home game of the season, against the San Diego Wave, kicks off at noon Saturday at CPKC Stadium.
Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry .danielkc@gmail.com .
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