Desiree Scott to Retire After 2025 NSL Season
Facundo Trotta Arrieta
Dailysports's expert
Desiree Scott will end her career at the close of the 2025 Northern Super League season, according to Canadian Soccer Daily. The 38-year-old midfielder, a long-standing icon of Canada’s women’s national team, came out of retirement to join Ottawa Rapid FC in the league’s inaugural campaign.
Her farewell match at home will take place on October 8 at TD Place, where Ottawa Rapid will honor her career. In her official statement, Scott said that finishing her journey on Canadian soil “has been an honor” and that being part of the league’s birth was “an unforgettable experience.”
Scott’s international career set a standard in Canadian soccer. She earned 188 caps, competed in four Olympic Games, and was central to the team’s bronze medals in London 2012 and Rio 2016, as well as the historic gold in Tokyo 2020. Her last appearance for Canada came on May 31, 2025, in a friendly against Haiti in Winnipeg, her hometown, which she called “the perfect sendoff.”
Her club career included stints in the NWSL, with Notts County in England, and with the Vancouver Whitecaps before she first retired in 2024. Months later, she signed with Ottawa Rapid FC, where she scored in the club’s first-ever match and became a steady presence both on the pitch and in the locker room.
Technical director Kristina Kiss praised her as a mentor for young players, while Ottawa Rapid CEO Thomas Gilbert emphasized her professionalism and integrity in helping establish the club’s culture during its first season.
Although Scott has not revealed her immediate plans, she has expressed her desire to remain involved in Canadian soccer and support the game’s growth. Her departure comes as the NSL enters its inaugural year, creating professional opportunities for Canadian players that she helped lay the groundwork for.
Her career leaves a mark that goes beyond medals and appearances. It lives on in the generations she inspired, the standards she set, and the progress she helped achieve for women’s sport in Canada.
