Former United States Women's international Stephanie McCaffrey is looking to buy her own women's soccer team.

The 26-year-old retired from playing after she was diagnosed with a rare neurological illness in 2018.  

Her diagnosis came after she started feeling back pain, that later lead to numbness in her face and down the left side of her body. McCaffrey had several tests before being told she had the illness.

“The three months after that diagnosis ... were, candidly, a nightmare,

“The nerve pain in my body was so bad I couldn’t really leave the house."

Her decision to retire was a hard one to make, with the forward contemplating several options.

“The decision was, do I sit out for what would be essentially two and a half full years and then go back to play in the NWSL, or do I move on?” 

The pain was ultimately too severe for him to continue playing, with Stephanie saying: 

“I couldn’t fathom taking the risk of putting my body through that again. So I think I’m doing the next most fun thing, and that’s kind of how I made the decision."

Before hanging up her boots, she played three years at Boston College Eagles between 2011-2014, where the 26-year-old made a combined 76 appearances, scoring 28 goals.

McCaffrey signed her first professional deal with Boston Breakers in 2015, she spent a season at the club playing 31 times and scoring three times. 

During that season she made six appearances for the United States Women's National Team, netting her only international goal against Brazil on her debut. 

Stephanie then moved to Chicago Red Stars in 2016, where she won't two years before having to retire, The forward ran out 20 times for the side, netting twice.

Now retired she has decided to enrol on Wharton's MBA program with the aim of buying a women's soccer team. The facilities she uses to use were poor and McCaffrey is aiming to bring equality to the women's game.

“That was definitely when I first realized: Wow, not only is the [lack of funding] in women’s sports real, but inequality is real,” McCaffrey said. “I couldn’t imagine a men’s player ever doing this."