Atletico Ottawa's Carl Haworth reflects on his career ahead of retirement

Atlético Ottawa's captain Carl Haworth is ending his career as a professional soccer player after spending several seasons in the capital with both Fury FC and Atlético.

"I had to step away from the game but fully at peace with the decision," said the 34-year-old. "I had a pretty bad injury in 2021 and still haven't really recovered from it."

On Sunday, the team played their last regular season game at TD Place. Ahead of the match, the forward was honoured in front of thousands of fans, many chanting Haworth's name.

"Carl thank you. Thank you so much for playing with us, being with us," said one Atletico supporter.

"He's done a lot of good for this team," said added fellow supporter Bryce Crossman, who gifted Haworth with a onesie for his newborn child.

Haworth grew up playing soccer in Barrie, Ont. and began his professional journey with Ottawa Fury FC in 2013, staying with the franchise until it dissolved in 2019. He'd eventually return, as a member of Atlético Ottawa.

"You're always looking for dependability and that's what Carl brings," said team manager and former teammate Drew Beckie.

Haworth's contributions off the field has helped grow the game. That includes his work with the Ottawa Gloucester Hornets youth soccer club. One of those young players was Danilo Goncalves.

At the end of Sunday's match, the 11-year-old made a point to get an autograph from the soccer legend.

"I want to be a professional soccer player," he said. "(Learning from Haworth) makes me feel like I have some who knows how to play soccer and understands soccer to help me."

For Haworth, seeing the soccer landscape grow in the city is an exciting time.

"It's really come a long way and going into 2026 hosted in Canada it's only going to get bigger," he said.

It's not clear yet what Haworth will do next, but he plans to stay in the capital.

"I met my wife here, her family is here, my baby boy was born here, so yeah, Ottawa is home," he said.

For now, he has this message for soccer fans who have been there since day one.

"They are our twelfth man out there and we get a lot of motivation from them. Just thank you, it truly means a lot," he said.