Soccer Legend Christine Sinclair Opens Up About Life In New Memoir
Everything we’ve known about Christine Sinclair has been soccer, soccer, and more soccer.
Sinclair has always known the spotlight, from scoring goals for Team Canada at the international level to captaining the newly minted NWSL Champions, Portland Thorns. But Sinclair's personal life has always been private...until now.
The first look at Sinclair’s life debuted in a personal and intimate collection of key moments in her life in her memoir, Playing The Long Game, which came out on Nov. 1, 2022. Sinclair’s memoir provides 15 detailed chapters of the key moments of her career, her family, teammates, and coaches who have all left an impact on her. But there was another, deeper meaning for the writing of her memoir — inspiration for the next generation.
“It’s kind of like understanding my role within the women’s game,” Sinclair said. “Understanding my role within Canada and inspiring the next generation. I want young kids to be able to read a book about a female soccer player from Canada. I grew up idolizing male athletes and learning all about them and what they did to succeed and how their careers went. I think it’s time to change the script.”
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The writing process for Sinclair was a challenging yet rewarding process, as she and her partner on the project, sportswriter Stephen Brunt worked for hours each day to make sure the chapters came out just right. Some of Sinclair’s favorite parts include her talking about her parents.
“The hardest but best [chapters] are the ones where I do start to talk a little bit about family, my dad, and my mom,” Sinclair said. “Everyone knows what I’ve done in my soccer career. They’ve lived it with me.”
Sinclair opens the book with a chapter about winning the elusive gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She made the decision to open with that specific chapter because it would be the freshest moment in the reader's mind, but also because it was the “pinnacle”, as Sinclair puts it, of her career. The rest of the book outlines how Sinclair got to that moment.
“When I started playing with Canada, I don’t think anyone thought [winning the gold medal] was going to be possible within my career,” Sinclair said. “To be able to step on the podium, singing O, Canada, and having an Olympic gold medal around your neck with your best friends. No one can take that away from us.”
Photo credits: Christine Sinclair’s Instagram
