At 13-years-old, Gotham FC signed U.S. Youth National Team forward McKenna “Mak” Whitham to a three-year contract through the NWSL’s U-18 Entry Mechanism.
The contract is effective beginning January 1, 2025 and the club is also signing Whitham to a National Team Replacement contract, which will allow Whitham to be available for selection in upcoming matches for Gotham FC during the international window.
With the signing, Whitman is officially the youngest player to sign with an NWSL team.
Whitman Builds Career With Gotham FC
Although Whitman will turn 14 years old on Saturday, July 2, she previously trained with Gotham during the 2024 pre-season as a non-roster invitee. During The Women’s Cup, Whitman scored the game-winning goal against Colombia’s Deportivo Cali to lead Gotham to the final.
“We are excited to have Mak officially sign with the club to start her professional career,” said Gotham FC General Manager and Head of Soccer Operations Yael Averbuch West. “Mak has proven herself each day at training, and we are excited to help her on her journey as a professional athlete. We are committed to fostering an environment that will help Mak grow not only as a player, but as a person as well.”
In addition to training with Gotham, Whitman previously trained with clubs such as the Kansas City Current and the Washington Spirit.
As a Southern California resident, the teeanger trained with the Los Angeles FC 2010 boys academy team in MLS Next. She also spent her youth career playing for the Slammers FC HB Køge, while also winning a UWS National Championship with SC Blue Heat.
“Mak has worked incredibly hard at training and has earned this opportunity,” said Gotham FC Head Coach Juan Carlos Amorós. “This is an important next step for Mak and the club, as we look to build for the future.”
Gotham discovered her through their extensive scouting network where she eventually participated with the club during their preseason training in Florida. In the same month she began training with the club, Whitman became the youngest athlete in any sport to sign a name, image, and likeness deal with Nike.
Although the NWSL regular season is on a break for the Olympics, the league is hosting their first-ever Summer Cup in partnership with Liga MX
MX
Gotham is scheduled to play against the Washington Spirit on Sunday, July 28 and if Whitman makes her debut for the club, she would become the the youngest player to ever feature in a first-division men’s or women’s soccer match in the United States.
Minors in the NWSL Workforce
As first reported by Jenna Tonelli, the club is in the process of securing a minor work permit to abide by the labor laws in New Jersey as 14 year olds are not allowed to work past 7pm.
Additionally, the state of New Jersey previously passed a bill to allow minors in professional sports to play until 3am with parental consent. However, the bill has not been signed yet by New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy, who is also a majority owner of the club.
As the NWSL continues to grow with record breaking milestones of fan attendance, YoY revenue, and media rights deals, there is still so much work to do.
Following the sexual harassment and misconduct from the NWSL that came to light in 2021, the league has a long history of players experiencing abuse and misconduct.
From the investigations, the league established their first-ever NWSL Anti-Harassment Policy in 2021 and since January 2022, the players now have a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in place.
However, the league continues to face challenges in several other aspects when it comes to creating a healthy workplace environment for both players and the front office staff.
Earlier this month, Brittany Alvarado, a former employee from San Diego Wave also shared her concerns about how working for the club impacted her mental health. While other employees from this club and others have spoken out, the league continues to not fully address these concerns by revealing the findings and changes from any third-party investigations.
Most recently, the firing of former Houston Dash
Dash
With the NWSL’s history of misconduct and the individual clubs that are also responsible for their actions (or lack thereof), the growth of the game is greatly impacted by the type of environment that is being created by a club.
With 14 teams in the NWSL and expansion teams to come in the future, the NWSL claims to be the best league in the world, but still has much room for growth to show that in how they care and protect all of their players.