West Ham United women’s team captain Katrina Gorry has opened up on how having children helped her rediscover her love for football.
The Australia international, who became Hammers skipper at the start of the season after joining the Club in January 2024, was at the time playing for Brisbane Roar, on loan from Norway team Avaldsnes, when she became pregnant with her first child, Harper.
Gorry went through IVF to have her eldest, having been inspired by her life coach to start a family.
“I had a really rough time in football for a couple of years,” she explained, speaking on Sky Sports’ Real Talk podcast. “I took an opportunity over in Norway. I was loving football again but there was just something missing.
“I went to sleep thinking about kids, about the names I wanted, what life would be like with a baby and I didn’t really think about football too much at all.
“I wanted to call my family but I didn’t want anyone to talk me out of it. Everything happened very quickly, which I’m really grateful for.
“When I touched down in quarantine in Brisbane, I had about a five-day wait. I took the pregnancy tests too early and they came back negative. A couple of days later, I had a faint line.
“Going through that first trimester, hiding it from my teammates, club, friends and family was pretty tough. But when I spoke to my coach, he was so supportive.”
Harper has not only brought a smile to Gorry’s life, but also to the footballing world. Throughout the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, Harper had a positive impact on the Australia national team, providing light-hearted and morale-boosting moments as they reached the semi-finals of the competition on home turf.
The Hammers skipper, who has since had a son, Koby, with her partner Clara Markstedt, felt fearless after having Harper as a single mum, which sparked a new lease of life for the beautiful game.
“When I fell pregnant, I didn’t know if I wanted to go back to football,” admitted an honest Gorry. “Football was always a big part of my life, but I didn’t know how it would work. My mum was really supportive from the moment I told her [about the pregnancy].
“When I got back into the Brisbane team, she was on the first flight out with me. She made my comeback really easy and having Harper there made football more enjoyable.
“You don’t get stuck on a bad game or bad training [session], you just get to go home and see a smiley little face. Getting to travel the world with her has been the best thing in the world.
“Anyone who goes through birthing a child, you realise you can go through anything, and that makes you stronger. It shouldn’t matter who your parents are, I feel like if you have love and happiness in a family, nothing else should matter. The more people that can show that, the better the world will be.
“The love that West Ham shows the kids here, it’s such a special time and I don’t think that should ever be taken away.”
