Megan Rapinoe did not get a phone call or an email with the news. She received an enthusiastic reception. The moment she walked into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, her family was waiting to tell her she had been elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame, and the cameras were rolling as it happened. Leading the ambush was her twin sister, Rachael. 

“Congratulations, you are officially being inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame for the class of 2027,” Rachel said to her sister. 

Her parents, along with Reign FC staff and players from the club’s academy, were also there to greet the returning legend. 

“My family has been there the whole time,” Rapinoe said. “They haven’t missed any of the biggest moments. Feels very fitting that they’re the ones to tell me.”

The midfielder received overwhelming votes in the ballot, 46 on 48, a 95.8 percent share, and she was elected in her first year of eligibility. She went in alongside two other players on the same ballot, former USWNT midfielder Julie Ertz and striker Jozy Altidore, who each polled exactly the same 95.8 percent. The almost universal vote was an affirmation of the image of the player that her peers and the sport’s gatekeepers have of her within the game. 

Rapinoe won two World Cups with the United States, in 2015 and 2019, and an Olympic gold medal at London 2012. Her best tournament was the 2019 tournament in France. As co-captain, she won both the Golden Boot as top scorer and the Golden Ball as the best player, then went on to be named The Best FIFA Women’s Player and to win the Ballon d’Or Feminin, becoming the first and still the only American ever to claim that award. 

She retired with 203 caps, 63 goals and 73 assists in her international career, having made her debut way back in 2006 and wrapped up her career in 2023. She also has a slice of Olympic history to her name, having scored directly from a corner kick at London 2012, the first player to do so at the Games. But it’s not just the international trophies that have brought her this call.

Megan Rapinoe was a founding member of Seattle Reign, playing at the club for 11 years, from 2013 to 2023. She departed the club as the top goal scorer with 54 goals in 126 appearances, along with 28 assists, and won three NWSL Shields along the way, scoring in the match that clinched each one.

On August 25, 2024, the club retired her No. 15 shirt, the first jersey retirement in its history. Earlier in her career, she had also won a French league title and the Coupe de France with Lyon, and lifted the 2005 NCAA championship with the University of Portland.

In 2022, the 41-year-old American received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States, becoming the first soccer player to be given it. Throughout her career, she campaigned on equal pay and social justice, making her one of the most prominent and, at times, most divisive athletes in the country. Her influence isn’t limited to her playing days, as the Hall of Fame itself pointed out. 

Former England and LA Galaxy icon David Beckham was elected on the Veteran ballot, as was indoor soccer great Tatu, while longtime coach Lothar Osiander went in on the Builder ballot. Several big names narrowly missed out, including Michael Bradley and Ali Krieger, who both polled just under 90 percent on the player ballot. The six inductees will be formally enshrined at a private ceremony on April 16, 2027, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, the home of the Hall of Fame.