Kenni Thompson Steps Away From Football
Bermuda footballer Kenni Thompson says she is taking a break from the game to focus on finding “joy and happiness” away from football.
The 25-year-old winger announced her decision on social media after leaving AFC Bournemouth Women at the end of the season following a three-year spell in which the club won four trophies and secured promotion.
Thompson, whose father Kenny Thompson is a former Bermuda player and coach, previously played for Spanish side Eibar and London City Lionesses.
“14 years ago I had to make one of the hardest decisions of my life,” Thompson wrote on social media.
“Pack up everything and move across the world to chase a dream at 11 years old.
“A dream of playing football professionally at the highest level and making it my career.
“I chased my dream and I achieved it. With hard work, tenacity and a burning passion for the game, I’ve represented my country and played for and against some of the biggest names in football.”
Thompson said the decision to step away from the game had been building for some time.
“Now here I am at 25 once again making an even harder decision,” she said.
“To once again pack up everything and walk away from my career, my dream, my life.
“This hasn’t been a decision that’s come easy. Unfortunately, this has been years in the making.
“Bit by bit, day by day that same passion that pushed me has slowly faded. The joy for the game that always got me through the darkest moments ultimately disappeared.
“I know there will be a lot of people that don’t understand and that I may be letting down but this is something that I have to do for me.
“I need to not just put myself first but love myself first. I spent years trying to recover my joy for the sport when I should’ve been finding my joy for life and for living.
“To genuinely see the beauty in who and what I have been blessed with. To be present and not solely just exist.
“I need time to not just find myself but find the joy and happiness within me and unfortunately the only way to do so is to walk away from the only thing I ever wanted in life.
“I know that 11-year-old girl is screaming at me to change my mind. She survived everything she thought she wouldn’t and I will forever be proud and grateful for her strength, but she isn’t who I am today.
“She was strong enough to go after her dream no matter what but now I need to be strong enough to walk away. I’m sorry I let you down, but I can’t let me down.
“I will forever be grateful for the amazing people football has brought into my life.
“Maybe this is goodbye forever, maybe it’s not, but right now I need to do what’s best for myself and the people I care most about in the world.
“Current priority: peace, reset, restart, refocus. Kenni.”
