Reign FC original and two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion earns election in her first year of eligibility; Rapinoe scored 51 regular season goals in 11 years with Seattle and 63 goals in 203 appearances for the U.S. Women’s National Team
Seattle Reign FC today announced that club legend and U.S. Women’s National Team icon Megan Rapinoe has been elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2027. Rapinoe, a club original who spent her entire 11-year NWSL career with Seattle from 2013 through 2023, was elected in her first year of eligibility and will be formally inducted on April 16, 2027 in Frisco, Texas.
Rapinoe learned of her election this morning at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where her parents and twin sister, Rachael, delivered the news as she returned home, joined by friends, Reign FC staff and players from the club’s Academy.
Established in 1950, the National Soccer Hall of Fame honors the players, coaches and contributors who have shaped the sport in the United States. Rapinoe was one of 20 finalists on the 2027 Player Ballot and one of nine in their first year of eligibility.
Rapinoe earned 203 caps for the U.S. Women’s National Team between her debut on July 23, 2006 and her farewell match on September 24, 2023 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Her 63 international goals rank 10th in program history, and her 73 assists are tied with Abby Wambach for third. Of the eight players in USWNT history with at least 50 goals and 50 assists, she is the only one with more assists than goals. Rapinoe played in four FIFA Women’s World Cups (2011, 2015, 2019, 2023), winning the title in 2015 and 2019, and her cross to Wambach in stoppage time of extra time against Brazil in the 2011 quarterfinal remains one of the most famous moments in team history. She won Olympic gold at the 2012 London Games, where she became the first player to score directly from a corner kick at the Olympics, and added a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
In 2019, Rapinoe co-captained the United States to its fourth World Cup title, winning the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer with six goals and the Golden Ball as its best player. She went on to sweep the sport’s top individual honors that year, named The Best FIFA Women’s Player and becoming the first American to win the Ballon d’Or Féminin.
A Redding, California native and 2005 NCAA champion at the University of Portland, Rapinoe made 115 NWSL regular season appearances (93 starts) for Seattle, recording 51 goals and 26 assists across 8,454 minutes. Including the postseason, she tallied 54 goals and 28 assists in 126 appearances, both club records at the time of her retirement. She helped the Reign capture three NWSL Shields (2014, 2015, 2022), scoring in each of the three Shield-clinching matches, and her 12 goals in 2017 marked her single-season high. Rapinoe was named to the NWSL Best XI First Team in 2018 and the Second Team five times (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022).
Rapinoe announced in July 2023 that she would retire at the conclusion of that season, and the club celebrated her career at “Forever Reign: A Celebration of Megan Rapinoe” at Lumen Field on October 6, 2023. On August 25, 2024, Seattle Reign FC retired her No. 15 jersey, the first jersey retirement in club history, in front of more than 16,000 fans at Lumen Field.
Off the field, Rapinoe became one of the most influential voices in sports, using her platform to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and gender equality. In 2022, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, becoming the first soccer player to receive the award.
Rapinoe will be inducted as a member of the Class of 2027 at the National Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday, April 16, 2027 in Frisco, Texas.