Natasha Dowie Announces Retirement From Football

Liverpool Women’s all time leading goal scorer Natasha Dowie announced her retirement from football on Friday, ahead of the start of the NWSL campaign next month.

Dowie was instrumental in the 2013 and 2014 seasons that saw Liverpool lift back to back league titles, scoring 13 goals in 14 games in 2013 and finishing as the league’s top scorer. She left Liverpool in November 2015 to go on loan, eventually starting a career journey that would take her to Australia, Sweden, the United States, Norway, and Italy, before bringing her back to England and ultimately back to Merseyside.

While she may be hanging up her boots, Dowie will now become an ambassador for the Liverpool Women’s team - a role newly created to work with the girls’ ProGame Academy, boys’ Academy and the LFC Foundation girls’ programs among other roles.

“Reflecting back, I feel really proud of my career and I actually think there’s no better way than I would have liked to have ended my career than at Liverpool Football Club,” Dowie told the club website of her decision to retire.

“I think having been here on loan last season, it just felt right. I had a couple of opportunities to go abroad again and play, but it was just nice to be home.

“I haven’t been home now for eight years and it just kind of felt right. Nothing excited me as much as staying at Liverpool and at home.”

Dowie joined Liverpool from local rivals Everton in 2012, when the club were building a squad to rival Arsenal’s dominance of the women’s game. She would go on to win the FA WSL Golden Boot and FA Player’s Player Of The Year in 2013 following Liverpool’s first of two title wins.

The England international returned to the Reds in January 2023 on loan from Reading for the second half of the season, helping to retain her goal scoring record for the Reds and ensure that Liverpool remained in the Women’s Super League for another season. Thanks to her help, the squad would finish seventh and Dowie herself became the first Liverpool Women’s player to reach 21 WSL goals.

“I’m so excited and I think why this club is so special is what they do for players. I’m going to be Liverpool’s women ambassador, which I’m so proud of,” Dowie continued.

“I’m going to be getting involved with the U18s at the Academy with the boys, I’m going to be working with LFC Foundation, I’ve been doing matchday appearances, working the lounges, doing Q&As and obviously doing my LFCTV stuff as well, which I love.

“It’s just a nice package, it has everything that I enjoy doing. But more than anything, representing this club, I’m hungry, I’m still hungry. I cannot wait, to be honest, for the next chapter.”

Fans will have the chance to honor Dowie in the upcoming season, as well. She may not be playing but a special ceremony will be held for the legend at the Merseyside Derby at Anfield on October 15th, when the Reds face her other former team Everton.

“It’s going to be special,” Dowie said. “I think every player has this dream of how they want to say goodbye.

“I think it’s even more special to be at Anfield, to be against Everton – I had five amazing years at Everton and won trophies at Everton as well.

“Those two clubs were probably the most special clubs to me, which is weird to say that because of the rivalry.

“To have that guard of honor there for me at Anfield is going to be incredible. I can’t wait. So hopefully we can get a big crowd and I can say goodbye to the fans. They’ve been amazing my whole Liverpool career.

“From 10 years ago, all the way through they’ve followed me, even when I’ve been traveling. And my welcome back was pretty special as well.”