McKenna Whitham scored against Deportivo Cali in injury time at the Women’s Cup in Colombia in February, finding her place in a sea of defenders and pushing the ball away to send Gotham FC to the final of the four-day preparatory tournament.
The goal was the 13-year-old’s first in a professional environment, and it came after weeks of pre-season training with the reigning NWSL champions. Whitham, who goes by Mak, was unfazed.
“It’s been spectacular,” she said Athleticism after his pre-season debut. “I’ve always played at a high level, so I’ve just been motivated to be the best and give 100% effort, and, I mean, just because they’re older, it’s not scary . Me.”
The teenager has already made a name for herself, making headlines for being the youngest female football player. sign a void deal with Nike. In doing so, she joined a roster filled with established college stars, like Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, and followed the path blazed by Angel City’s Alyssa and Gisele Thompson, who in 2022 became the first high school girls to sign a NIL agreement with sportswear. giant.
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Whitham continued to train with Gotham as the team prepared for its 2024 season and, on the eve of the Challenge Cup, was back at Red Bull Arena. Dressed in team warm-up gear, she trained alongside her veteran teammates, joining World Cup winner Esther Gonzalez in a drill. Whitham’s passes were clean, with plenty of power behind them. When coaches stopped a drill to give her instructions, she adapted quickly.
Whitham was one of three non-roster invitees under the age of 18 invited to join the team for pre-season training, which began at the IMG Academy in Florida in February and continued in Colombia for the Women’s Cup. Although she trained with the team before the Challenge Cup, she was in the stands during Gotham’s 1-0 loss to the San Diego Wave.
Whitham, however, was with Gotham during the postgame ceremony and although Whitham did not make it to Gotham’s season opener in Portland, she joined the team again this month. A Gotham FC spokesperson confirmed Athleticism Whitham has since continued with the team as a practice player.
A Gotham FC spokesperson said Athleticism ahead of the Challenge Cup, Whitham was invited to join the team for training. At that time, the team had 25 active players and one player on excused absence. With veteran forward Midge Purce suffering a season-ending ACL injury last week, the team can call up a player in her absence.
Since a young Olivia Moultrie took the field in 2021, a youth movement has been underway in the league. This gained even more momentum last year when the league introduced an U-18 entry mechanism, creating a structured pathway for young players looking to turn professional.
Although Whitham has yet to publicly sign with an NWSL team, her preseason debut with Gotham signals her potential to become one of the youngest players to sign a professional contract in the United States. That distinction currently belongs to Melanie Barcenas, who signed with San Diego last year. Wave at 15 years and 138 days.
“There are so many great teams and so many young players too,” Whitham said. “But I have the idea and the mindset of just being the best and, like, trying amazing things and breaking all the records and all the goals. I always wanted just that .
Whitham, who turns 14 on July 27, is homeschooled and is part of the Class of 2028. The California native plays for Slammers FC HB Køge, a competitive club in the southern part of the state, and is a member of the American under-15 team. national youth team. Whitham has trained with NWSL clubs including Gotham, the Kansas City Current and the Washington Spirit. She was also recently invited to train with the 2010 LAFC MLS Next Boys Academy team.
Yael Averbuch West, Gotham’s general manager and head of soccer operations, said the club set its sights on Whitham when it began monitoring promising young players after the U-18 entry rule was established .
“‘Mak’ is a name that was on our radar and had been mentioned to us before,” she said. “As pre-season approached, we recognized that we had the opportunity for players not currently under contract with our team to come into our group so that we could evaluate them and see them in our environment .”
The club knew Whitham had participated in the preseason with other clubs, Averbuch West said, meaning she already had some experience in the professional world. Whitham’s age was a significant factor in his evaluation.
“It’s important,” Averbuch West said. “We would never accept a player into our environment who is not ready, mentally and physically, to train like every other player here, and Mak not only fits in perfectly, but has also been a great contributor to the group. (She has) consistency in terms of technical execution under pressure, (her) tactical understanding and she has some really amazing physical talents that make her an exciting prospect. So we feel like she has a complete vision, in addition to a very good state of mind.
It is common for young players to join NWSL clubs during pre-season windows. For Gotham this year, it was a valuable resource, especially with so many players – including Rose Lavelle, Emily Sonnett, Crystal Dunn and Tierna Davidson – absent from training for national team duty or recovering after an injury. The club even brought in 39-year-old Heather O’Reilly, who trained with the club this pre-season in a player-coach role.
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“For us, it is very important to have young talents on the team,” Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said in a call with reporters, adding that Gotham is also considering recruiting academic talents. “It’s very difficult when the national team takes away seven of your players, and you have to fill the team with other players for five or six weeks in pre-season, and there are certain rules that you have to respect and that you really can’ I don’t break.
Clubs are also operating in a rapidly changing professional landscape, where more and more young players are opting out of the collegiate game altogether.
In early March, for example, Angel City signed University of North Carolina alum Kennedy Fuller just days before her 17th birthday. Fuller joined compatriot Casey Phair, who in July became the youngest player to make his World Cup debut. Phair played only one season of high school football before making his professional debut.
Whitham will also likely follow a similar path, saying Athleticism“I won’t play high school soccer, and pro is just my goal – no college. I’ve always wanted to go pro – and scoring that goal (in the Women’s Cup) was nice to know I can hang on and just being with these professional players.
These young players continue to break records. During the NWSL’s opening weekend, Alex Pfeiffer of the Kansas City Current became the youngest scorer in NWSL history in the team’s inaugural match at its new stadium. At 16 years, 3 months and 20 days, Pfeiffer beat the previous record set by Moultrie in 2022 by approximately five months.
These moments were possible because of Moultrie, who paved the way for the NWSL. U-18 Entry Mechanism. The NWSL banned players under the age of 18 from entering the league until Moultrie filed a lawsuit for his right to play.
The U-18 registration mechanism, modified prior to this season, establishes a non-public U-18 registration list which is maintained by the NWSL. Teams are only allowed four U-18 players between the roster and their squad, and those players would fill a full roster spot. Players on the roster are not tradable, nor are roster spots tradable.
Inclusion of a player on the entry list comes with strict requirements: a player can only be added with the consent of a parent or guardian; a player on the list must have signed a guaranteed contract within 30 days of being placed on the list; and any contract awarded must last, at a minimum, for the season in which the player reaches the age of 18.
All U-18 players on a roster are also subject to other rules. These players cannot be waived or traded by a club before the player reaches the age of 18, except with the consent of the player and his parent or guardian. Loans for these players are also approved on a case-by-case basis by the league, and players must live with a parent or guardian until their 18th birthday.
There are also guidelines for things such as providing housing, tuition or tutoring to U-18 players, as well as other guidelines for minors in the league. If Gotham signed Whitham or any other player under 16, they would also have to comply with a New Jersey law that prohibits 14- and 15-year-olds from working after 7 p.m. The rule proved to be a problem for the New York. The Red Bulls this season, who were forced to sideline local forward Julian Zakrzewski Hall until the team had a noon game.
Whitham’s father was with the 13-year-old in Colombia. Averbuch West said the club plans to contact her to better understand her unique needs.
“Mak is clearly very ready, not only to handle this level, but also to excel in our sessions,” Averbuch West said. “But at the same time, there are different considerations for players of all ages, and, particularly for a younger player, when it comes to making sure that we educate on nutrition, on physical development, when we are in the gym, on mental development and mental performance. Due to his age, we use a specific goal to do it.
It remains to be seen whether Whitham’s future is with Gotham. Any contract she signs would have to last through the 2028 season.
“At every step, we decided, ‘Okay, now it makes sense that we continue this journey together,’” Averbuch West said. “And, obviously, everyone that’s in our environment, if they can help our team win, we’re always evaluating the role they can play in our team’s success.”