Thank You Kelly: Kelly Smith Retires

Kelly Smith retired in January 2017 at thirty-eight, two years after leaving international football, having won the FA Cup at Wembley in May 2016 as her twentieth major Arsenal trophy and what she called the most glorious way to complete her career. Arsenal marked it twice: a silver cannon presented at the Emirates, then an All Star Game at Meadow Park before 2,350 supporters, refereed by Howard Webb, in which she came off the bench for a two-minute cameo and scored a penalty with her last ever kick. Tributes come from Rachel Brown-Finnis, Marieanne Spacey, Hope Powell, Heather O’Reilly, Casey Stoney and Faye White. She will coach Arsenal’s under-20s while studying for her UEFA A licence.