More than seven years after playing in her last NWSL match, Sinead Farrelly is returning to the league with Gotham FC.
The 33-year-old midfielder joined the New Jersey-based club for the preseason as a non-roster invitee and the club announced her signing on Saturday.
“I’m thankful for all the support I’ve received to help me reach this point, because I could not have done this alone,” Farrelly said in a press release issued by Gotham.
“I want to be a key player for Gotham FC, while also having grace and compassion with myself as I acclimate back into the professional environment. There were times when this did not feel possible for me. But I have made it to this moment, and I’m going to keep building on it. As I continue, I hope to inspire others to follow their dreams, no matter how far out of reach they may seem.”
Farrelly last played in an NWSL regular-season match for the Portland Thorns in 2015. In September 2021, she went public with her experience of sexual abuse at the hands of former Thorns coach Paul Riley.
The allegations made by Farrelly and by her former Thorns teammate Mana Shim prompted the firing of Riley by the North Carolina Courage and the opening of wider abuse investigations by the NWSL and its players association as well as U.S. Soccer.
Farrelly had played under Riley on a semi-pro team, in the Women’s Professional Soccer league and then with the Thorns, and the sexual coercion continued with each team, she told The Athletic.
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