Jess Fishlock has left a lasting legacy as Wales’ most-capped player, all-time leading goalscorer and inspirational talisman — an iconic figure who almost single-handedly raised standards both on and off the field for the women’s game in her country over the course of two decades.
Now after a legendary career for club and country — during which she scored 48 times over 166 appearances and helped Wales qualify for their first major tournament at the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 — Fishlock will retire at the end of the 2026 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) season.
There were some fears that Fishock’s career would come to a close sooner than expected after suffering a leg injury for Seattle Reign last month, but she hopes to return towards the end of the campaign for an emotional send-off.
Following her retirement announcement, Fishlock spoke to FIFA about her reasons for retiring, saying goodbye to international football and her fondest memories.
Jess Fishlock: I’m doing OK. It’s still pretty early and pretty acute. I’m still dealing with the initial pain but other than that I’m feeling really good. It is the hope [to play again this season].
When you get to this point, it’s not so much the reasons why, it’s more of a feeling and then you almost can’t find reasons why you shouldn’t retire. That’s when you know when the time is right rather than have a pros and cons list. It doesn’t hit you like that, it hits you very different. There was no real reason for it other than it feels like the right time.
The beautiful thing about my career is that you were able to see so much change in the game. That is something that we will be able to talk about forever. There was a moment when I was with my partner and I was reeling off what the last 6-8 years have looked like and each year something has been achieved or won and I didn’t realize it. When I am training or playing, I don’t think about anything like that, I think about [being in the moment]. It’s surreal. I think afterwards might be the time when I can really sit down and enjoy it.
It’s chalk and cheese. I will sit in the changing room and talk about the changing room in the beginning and the girls would say, ‘No way.’ Back then there were only [eight] teams and the league was maybe only five months’ long. And this was why the Australian [W-league] at the time was great because players at the time could play in both leagues… and this was how internationals could get year-round football. Fast forward to now, and you have 16 teams and 18 very soon, it’s incredible. Not only has it expanded in size but it has not diluted what we’re doing and that’s the biggest compliment you could give.
The Reign’s core values, which are values that I can resonate with and believe in. It doesn’t feel like I am going to work and doing my job but there is a deeper level of connection that comes when you care about who you are working for and what your goals are. You are working for something bigger than your self and that is always something that [strikes a chord with] me, the bigger picture.
That was tough obviously. I was playing for Wales before I played professionally. It was such a big part of my life and my family is still in Wales, so it was nice to go back home. It’s not just I have retired from international football but my life has changed now. Maybe I don’t see my family so much any more… so it’s tough. I love the girls and hopefully they will get to a Women’s World Cup and maybe more EUROs. That’s where they deserve to be.
Yes. Qualifying for a major tournament with Wales was my career highlight without a doubt, but the highlight of the tournament was not [my] goal but the Welsh fans. They were incredible, they showed up for us… and it was beyond my wildest expectations about how many fans were in the arenas with a sea of red. It was insane and that was the highlight of not just the EUROs but maybe my career.
I don’t think regret is the right word. Obviously, I would have loved to have been part of a World Cup and I hope the girls get there now. The tournament is also expanding [to 48 teams for the 2031 tournament] so there are more chances. For many years, the tournament was small so it was just really, really difficult. But now as those tournaments start to expand there is more of a chance for Wales to qualify. I don’t think it is regret, it is just the situation, how it was and the timing of it. Plus our nation needed time to catch up with investment and growing the game and there is not really much that we could have done about that. And playing for another nation was never an option for me because I love Wales.
Winning the [NWSL] Shield with the Reign in 2014 and 2015 with that group was a joke. One of the highlights of my career was playing with Kimmi [Little] and I did that here and in Australia [with Melbourne Victory]. Winning the treble with Lyon [in 2017/18 was amazing] and we won the Shield with Seattle in 2022 on the last day of the season… that was pretty special. Then with Melbourne we won the title back-to-back-to-back [from 2015/16 to 2017/18]. But what gives me my fondest memories are the friendships that I’ve made like Kimmi and [Lauren Barnes] and [Megan Rapinoe]… friendships that will last a lifetime.
I have my UEFA A licence and I am doing a master’s [degree] in sports directorship just to get myself academically alongside my many years of experience in women’s football to give myself the best chance really for what it looks like post-playing. I absolutely want to stay within the game but I don’t exactly know in what capacity right now.
