Carrie’s Comments: Nicoline Sorensen

Journalist and author Carrie Dunn reflects on the early retirement of Everton and Denmark forward Nicoline Sorensen, who stepped away from football at just 26 having achieved her childhood dream of turning professional and representing her country. Drawing on interviews for her book ‘Woman Up: Pitches, Pay and Periods’, Dunn explores a recurring theme among female players who leave the game while still young: that their lasting memories are less about trophies than about the life lessons and identity football gave them. She also examines how injuries, particularly ACL ruptures like Sorensen’s, can hand players unwanted time to reconsider their futures, and how the pressures of full-time professionalism sit differently for women who did not grow up inside academy systems from childhood.