McKenna Whitham scored in stoppage time against Deportivo Cali in the Colombian Women’s Cup match in February, setting her footing in a sea of defenders and converting The ball was delivered to help Gotham FC advance to the four-day pre-season finals.
It was the 13-year-old’s first goal in a professional environment and came after weeks of pre-season training with the defending NWSL champions. Mak’s Whitham isn’t worried.
“It’s really spectacular,” she told Competitor after her preseason debut. “I’ve always played at a high level, so I’m motivated to be the best and give 100 percent effort, and, I mean, just because they’re older, it doesn’t scare them away from me.”
The teenager has already made a name for herself, making headlines as the youngest female footballer to sign a no-contract deal with Nike. In the process, she joins a roster that includes big-name college stars like Iowa State’s Caitlin Clark and follows Angel City’s Alyssa and Gisele Thompson Thompson, who in 2022 became the first high school students to sign an NIL agreement with a sports uniform.
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Whitham continues to train with Gotham as the team prepares for the 2024 season and returns to the Red Bull Arena ahead of the Challenge Cup. She wore the team’s warm-up uniform, practiced with old teammates and trained with World Cup winner Esther Gonzalez. Whitham’s pass is clean and crisp, with plenty of power behind it. When the coach stopped training to coach her, she quickly adjusted.
Whitham was one of three under-18, non-roster invitees who were asked to join the squad for pre-season training, which began in February at the IMG Academy in Florida and continued in Colombia for the Women’s Cup. Although she practiced with the team before the Challenge Cup, she was in the stands during Gotham’s 0-1 loss to the San Diego Wave.
However, Whitam was with Gotham during the postgame ceremony, and although Whitam did not attend Gotham’s season opener in Portland, she rejoined the team again this month.A spokesman for Gotham Football Club confirmed Competitor Whitham has since continued to serve as the team’s practice player.
A spokesman for Gotham Football Club told Competitor Whitam was welcomed to join the team for training before the Challenge Cup. At that time, the team had 25 active players and one player who was absent for some reason. With veteran forward Mitch Pooles suffering a season-ending ACL injury last week, the team could call up a player in her absence.
Ever since young Olivia Moultrie burst onto the scene in 2021, there’s been a youth movement around the league. The league gained additional momentum last year when it introduced an Under-18 entry system, creating a structured path for young players who want to turn professional.
Although Whitham has yet to publicly sign with an NWSL team, her preseason debut with Gotham showed she has the potential to become one of the youngest players in the country with a professional contract. That honor currently belongs to Melanie Barcenas, who signed with San Diego last year at 15 years and 138 days old.
“There’s a lot of great teams out there and a lot of young players,” Whitham said. “But I have this idea and mentality of being the best, like trying amazing things, breaking all the records and goals. I’ve always just wanted this.”
Whitham has joined Gotham Football Club for pre-season and training. (Gotham Football Club)
Whitham, who will turn 14 on July 27, is home-schooled and is a member 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 U.S. Under-15 Youth National Team. Whitham has trained with NWSL clubs including Gotham, Kansas City Current and Washington Spirit. She was also recently invited to train with LAFC MLS Next’s 2010 Boys Academy Team.
Gotham general manager and head of football operations Yael Averbuch West said the club began to pay close attention to promising young players after the Under-18 competition rules were established, so they set their sights on Whitham.
“The name ‘Mak’ has always been on our radar and has been mentioned before,” she said. “As we approach preseason, we recognize we have an opportunity to bring players who are not currently under contract with our team to our team so that we can evaluate them and see them in our environment.”
Averbach West said the club knew Whitham had played pre-season with other clubs, meaning she already had some experience in the professional world. Whitam’s age is an important consideration when evaluating her.
“This is important,” Averbach-West said. “We would never bring a player into our environment who is not mentally and physically ready to practice, just like the other players here, and Mai is not only a great fit, but has made a huge contribution to the team. Contribution. (Her) consistency in terms of technical execution under pressure, (her) tactical understanding, and she has some amazing physical gifts that make her an exciting prospect. So, we feel She has a complete understanding in addition to having a really great mentality.”
It is common for young players to join NWSL clubs during the preseason window. It’s a valuable resource for this year’s Gotham, especially with so many players — including Rose Lavelle, Emily Thornette, Crystal Dunn and Tierna Davidson — Missing national team training or recovering from injury. The club even hired 39-year-old Heather O’Reilly, who trained with the club as a player-coach during pre-season.
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“It’s very important for us to have young talent join the team,” Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amoros told reporters, adding that Gotham is also considering bringing in college talent. . “It’s very difficult when the national team takes away seven of your players and you need to fill the team with other players for five or six weeks in pre-season and there are some rules you need to follow and you It sure does” don’t break. “
Clubs are also dealing with a rapidly changing professional landscape, with more and more young players abandoning the college game altogether.
For example, in early March, Angel City signed former UNC commit Kennedy Fuller, just days before her 17th birthday. Fuller became the youngest player to make his World Cup debut in July, along with teenager Casey Phair. Phil only played one season of high school football before making his professional debut.
Whitam may also take a similar route, telling Competitor“I’m not going to play high school football, the pro game is just my focus – not college. I’ve always wanted to go pro – and to achieve that goal (at the Women’s Cup) is nice knowing I can stick with it, and with those guys Professional players together.”
These young players continue to break records. During the NWSL’s opening weekend, the Kansas City Tide’s Alex Pfeiffer became the youngest goalscorer in NWSL history during the team’s first game at the new stadium. Pfeiffer was 16 years, 3 months and 20 days old, about five months faster than Moultrie’s record set in 2022.
These moments were made possible thanks to Moultrie, who paved the way for the NWSL’s U-18 entry mechanism. The NWSL banned players under the age of 18 from entering the league until Moultrie filed a lawsuit seeking the right to play.
The U-18 entry system was modified prior to this season, establishing a non-public U-18 entry list maintained by the NWSL. Teams may only have four U-18 players between roster spots and those players will occupy full roster spots. Players on the roster are non-tradeable, and roster spots are non-tradeable.
There are strict requirements for adding players to the roster: Players can only be added with the consent of a parent or guardian; Players on the roster must sign a guaranteed contract within 30 days of being placed on the roster; Any contract awarded must last at least until the player reaches the age of majority Age 18 season.
All U-18 players on the roster are subject to additional rules. Clubs may not waive or trade these players until they reach the age of 18 without the consent of the players and their parents or guardians. Loans for these players are also approved by the league on a case-by-case basis, with players required to live with a parent or guardian until their 18th birthday.
There is also an overview of matters such as accommodation, tuition or tutoring for U-18 players, as well as other guidelines for the league’s minors. If Gotham wanted to sign Whitham or any player under the age of 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 has proven to be an issue for New York this season, with the Red Bulls forced to sit out homegrown forward Julian Zakrzewski-Hall until the team’s midday game.
Whitham’s father was in Columbia with the 13-year-old. Averbach-West said the club was very intentional about reaching out to her to better understand her unique needs.
“Mak is clearly ready to not only handle this level but perform well in our training,” Averbuch West said. “But at the same time, players of different ages, especially younger players, have different considerations when it comes to making sure that we educate them in the gym about nutrition, about physical development, about mental development and mental performance. Because of her age, we There’s a specific lens to do that.”
Whether Whitam’s future belongs to Gotham remains to be seen. Any contract she signs would have to run through the 2028 season.
“Every step of the way, we decided, ‘Okay, now it makes sense for us to continue this journey together,'” Averbach-West said. “And, obviously, anybody in our environment, if they can help our team win, we’re always going to evaluate what role they can play in the success of our team.”
