Owner. Sporting director. And now, player.
Memphis 901 FC made a shocking announcement on Wednesday that Tim Howard ended his brief retirement and signed a contract to play the upcoming USL Championship season. Howard is a minority owner with Memphis 901 and was named sporting director for the team in the offseason, as he had been involved in scouting and signing players for this season’s roster.
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At almost 41-years old, Howard will be one of the oldest professionals still playing in the U.S. However, there’s no doubt that he can add a lot to the young players for Memphis who are on the way up, and he’ll get to enjoy one more season in net against a slightly lower level of competition. In addition, he links up with head coach Tim Mulqueen, who originally discovered Howard as a pre-teen when Mulqueen was the goalkeeper coach for the Metrostars in the mid-to-late 1990s and Howard was a pre-teen.
“Since my retirement in October, my obsession for football has grown,” Howard said in a statement. “The desire to win continues to drive me. I love to play and I love to compete, this gives me the opportunity to do both.”
TURN UP THE VOLUME 🔊@TimHowardGK is ready to #DefendMemphis
— Memphis 901 FC (@Memphis901FC) March 4, 2020
The U.S. Men’s National Team legend announced before the start of the 2019 season that it would be his final season as a professional, while he was a Designated Player for the struggling Colorado Rapids. However, it appears that he had the itch to play after spending some time working with the club this offseason.
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Although he hails from New Jersey, Tim Howard made Memphis his offseason base for nearly the past decade, as his family lives in the area. Now, Howard has the opportunity to play in front of his closest fans at home. Howard became a part-owner of the club in 2018 and the club made its debut in USL in 2019.
