Gotham FC’s McKenna “Mak” Whitham made her professional debut at the age of 14 years old during Sunday’s match against the Washington Spirit just days after signing a professional contract with the team.
Whitham made history last week when she signed a deal with Gotham and became the youngest player to ever ink an NWSL contract at 13 years old — the deal was signed a day shy of her 14th birthday.
Whitham entered Sunday’s NWSL x Liga MX Summer Cup game in the 80th minute, and Gotham won the match, 1-0, at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa.
While her deal won’t go into effect until Jan. 1, 2025, and runs through 2028, she also inked a National Team Replacement Player contract which allowed her to be eligible for Gotham’s Summer Cup matches.
Sunday’s moment was historic across U.S. soccer, with Whitham becoming the youngest player ever to get into a first-division match.
It set a new record after Cavan Sullivan had become the youngest player to ever get into a match when he made his MLS debut 11 days earlier for the Philadelphia Union at the same venue.
Whitham is 10 months younger than Sullivan, who made his MLS debut at 14 years and 293 days old to break Freddy Adu’s record.
“I am really excited to sign and begin my professional career with Gotham FC,” Whitham said in a statement after signing the contract. “Gotham FC is a great place for me to continue to push myself as a player. I can’t wait to get to work and to continue to grow as a player with the great players, coaches and staff at Gotham FC.”
Whitham was able to sign with Gotham and bypass the NWSL draft due to a mechanism known as the NWSL under-18 entry mechanism that permits her to be selected under 18.