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'I couldn't really speak about it' - a decision dividing the Women's Super League

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By Emma Sanders and Katie Gornall
BBC Sport

'I thought I would have to hang up the boots to start a family' - West Ham's Gorry on motherhood and football

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"It was all I thought about and dreamed about. I thought about names every minute. I just knew there was something missing. So I went to an IVF clinic and four weeks later I was pregnant."

Katrina Gorry's life changed completely after that.

Her home nation Australia was set to host a first Women's World Cup less than two years later but Gorry was prepared to give up a lifelong dream to become a mother.

"It all went really quickly. I didn't really have to think about who I wanted to tell. I kept it to myself. I didn't really care about football at that time," Gorry told BBC Sport.

"For as long as I can , I thought I would have to hang up the boots to start a family.

"But I knew I was in the right place. I knew that I wanted to be pregnant and I wanted to have a little one. And everything fell into place.

"The national team were super ive. They said they would be there if I wanted to return to football. At that time I didn't - I was pretty happy just giving it up.

"But when I was pregnant I started watching it more; I started getting more invested. Afterwards I started thinking about getting back to the game.

"I felt like I loved it more than I ever had before."

Gorry embarked on a journey as a single mother while playing for Brisbane Roar in 2021, before meeting her current partner Clara.

They now live in London after Gorry ed West Ham in January from Swedish club Vittsjo GIK, having made a return to football only three months after giving birth to daughter Harper, who is now two.

Gorry achieved her football dream, helping Australia reach the semi-finals of the World Cup on home soil in 2023, and she has more excitement to come - Clara is expecting a baby boy.

"I'm known more as Harper's mum now than as a football player - that's the most special part," said Gorry, who is currently recovering from a season-ending ankle injury.

"I wanted to be a mum for so long. I knew Harper was going to be special just because of how much I wanted her. I had her alone and we got to develop the most incredible relationship."

Katrina Gorry and her daughter Harper after Australia were knocked out of the 2023 Women's World CupGetty Images

Katrina Gorry and daughter Harper after Australia were knocked out of the 2023 World Cup

It has not been easy for Gorry. She wasn't sure if she could juggle life as a professional footballer and motherhood. It is not something that is widely spoken about outside of the United States.

In November 2022 England striker Toni Duggan told BBC Sport: "I don't think women's football is ready for women to be pregnant."

A BBC Sport study released in March found that a third of British sportswomen surveyed said they had delayed starting a family because of their sporting career.

But Gorry embraced motherhood, moving to Sweden when Harper was six months old and facing challenges like going to the supermarket in a foreign country and trying to find the right baby food.

"I getting there for the first three weeks and thinking 'gosh, what have I got myself into">