McKenna Whitham became the youngest player to make her debut in a men’s or women’s first division soccer match in the United States, making history just one day after her 14th birthday.

Whitham came on as an 80th-minute substitute for NJ/NY Gotham FC against the Washington Spirit in their NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup match at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania on Sunday. She came on for Katie Stengel

Two days earlier, Gotham announced that they had signed Whitham as a replacement player for the national team for the current Olympic window. The club also announced that they had signed Whitham on a historic four-year deal that will begin on January 1.

The California native, who is moving to New Jersey with her family, is believed to be the youngest player to play in a North American professional sports league since the 1970s, according to Elias Sports Bureau. That includes debuts in the NBA, WNBA, NFL and NHL.

At 14 years and 1 day, Whitham is almost a year younger than the Philadelphia Union’s Cavan Sullivan, who 11 days ago became the youngest player to make his Major League Soccer debut, breaking a record long held by former U.S. international Freddy Adu. Sullivan also broke that record at Subaru Park.

Sullivan made his debut on July 17 against the New England Revolution at the age of 14 years, 293 days. Adu was 14 years, 306 days old when he made his D.C. United debut against the San Jose Earthquakes in April 2004.

Whitham, who goes by Mak, has been with Gotham since February. She first joined the NWSL club as a non-roster invitee for this year’s preseason. She has remained a steady and consistent presence with the team, cheering them on from the stands at games and training with the squad regularly.

She first played in a pre-season match for Gotham at the Women’s Cup in Colombia in February. Whitham was 13 at the time and scored her first goal in a professional setting after coming on for captain Kelley O’Hara against Deportivo Cali. Whitham’s winning goal propelled Gotham into the final of the tournament, which Gotham went on to win.

“It’s just spectacular,” Whitham told The Athletic after her pre-season debut. “I’ve always played at a high level so I’m just motivated to be the best I can and give it 100% and I mean, just because they’re older, it doesn’t scare me.”

Several teenagers have also made their NWSL debuts in recent years, including the San Diego Wave’s Melanie Barcenas, who made her debut for the club last year at 15 years and 181 days old. Also on the field Sunday was Chloe Ricketts, now 17, who was previously believed to be the youngest NWSL player ever, signing with a team last March.

While Whitham has been compared by many to Sullivan and others in the MLS or lower divisions of men’s soccer, the reality is that until recently, girls simply have not had the same opportunities to play at the highest levels of professional soccer in the U.S. as boys.

The NWSL, founded in 2012, initially banned underage players from participating. That changed two years ago when the league introduced the U-18 Entry Mechanism, which allows each team to sign four underage players as long as they adhere to a strict set of guidelines. That’s why, for example, every contract signed by an underage player rolls over into the season in which he turns 18.

The mechanism’s introduction was a byproduct of young Olivia Moultrie’s decision in 2021 to launch a legal battle with the NWSL for her right to play. Though Moultrie turned pro at age 13 and signed a nine-year endorsement deal with Nike in 2019, she was unable to sign with an NWSL club until age 15, two weeks after a judge barred the NWSL from enforcing its long-held age rule.

Moultrie’s antitrust lawsuit paved the way for the youth movement we see in American women’s soccer today. For Gotham, Whitham is the first player the club has signed using the U-18 registration mechanism.

According to Gotham, the rules are constantly evolving and have recently been expanded to include additional provisions on medical evaluations of children, facilities and safety assessments, in an effort to ensure the long-term development of minors.

“(The) NWSL in general is evolving to be able to accommodate and help develop younger players,” Yael Averbuch West, the club’s general manager and head of soccer operations, told The Athletic on Thursday. “We’re looking, as a league, and particularly at our club in Gotham, at how we can create a true professional player pathway.

“It’s a big focus,” she continued. “It’s not just about winning this year in the NWSL, which is one of our focuses, but it’s also about how we prepare for the future and how we identify and develop players who are ready to represent our club.”

(Photo courtesy of NJ/NY Gotham FC)