Last weekend, Liverpool’s first female ambassador Natasha Dowie watched on from a private box at the Emirates as her former — and, in a lot of ways, current — team defeated Arsenal 1-0 in front of a record Women’s Super League (WSL) crowd of more than 54,000.
Liverpool Women’s all-time top scorer enjoyed a club career spanning two decades and six countries. It began at Watford in 2004 and ended fittingly with Liverpool, a decade on from her first spell when she won two WSL titles in 2013 and 2014.
The former England striker, who can boast a 119th-minute FA Cup final winner for Everton against Arsenal in 2010 alongside a league title double with Liverpool, announced her retirement from football last month at the age of 35.
Dowie played for Everton between 2007 and 2012 (Neal Simpson – PA Images via Getty Images)
Having rejoined Liverpool on loan from Reading at the turn of the year, Dowie felt in great shape and had wanted to continue this season.
“If Liverpool offered me another year I would have considered carrying on,” Dowie tells The Athletic. “But that wasn’t the case — and that’s fine.
“They’re looking to bring in younger blood, which I completely understand. When that offer wasn’t on the table I thought, ‘Something will have to…
