Season › 2014-15 › News Everton Ladies goalkeeper retires , 6 January, 3comments | Jump to most recent Everton Ladies goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis has announced her retirement from football. The England international, 34, has made the decision to hang up her gloves with immediate effect but will remain with the Club as an ambassador. Brown-Finnis said: “It was a tough decision. To be honest, it is something that I have been considering over the past 18 months or so and it is simply down to the amount of pain I suffer with my knee and back over the course of a season. It's down to whether I can continue to withstand that pain after every training session. “It is emotional for me but I think now is the right time.” Article continues below video content Since joining Everton in 2003, Brown-Finnis has helped the Blues to lift the FA Women's Cup and finish runners-up in the women's top-flight five times. She was named Everton Ladies' Player of the Year in 2012 and also worked for the Club's official charity Everton in the Community for seven years as a coach and to raise the profile of the ladies' game. On the international stage, Brown-Finnis made her senior debut for England at the age of 16 and went on to proudly represent her country in two World Cups and the 2012 Olympic Games. She also became one of the first female England internationals to be awarded a central contract by the FA. Now, Brown-Finnis is looking forward to using her achievements on the pitch to raise the profile of the women's game as the first ever Everton Ladies ambassador. She said: “We are in new territory. A former player staying on at the Club as an ambassador has never been done before. “I am really proud to say that role has been offered to me by Andy Spence and Everton Football Club. I've played for the Club for over 12 years and I also spent seven years with Everton in the Community, so I do have a massive affinity with this Club. “Anything I can do, with my experience on and off the pitch, I would just love to give that back to a Club that has given me so much.” Reader Comments (3) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Peter Gorman 2 Posted 06/01/2015 at 23:26:45 Such a shame that Rachel Brown-Finnis cares more about Everton Football Club than Everton Football Club does.Good luck to her in all her future pursuits; she will need all the help she can get being an ambassador for the ladies team which the club has allowed to be run into the ground. Harold Matthews 3 Posted 07/01/2015 at 11:53:51 What a keeper. I have a photo of her inside my cupboard door, flying through the air like a swallow. One of my top football pics of all time. It should be on Toffee Web. Richard Lyons 4 Posted 07/01/2015 at 19:00:18 Shame she can't play for the men's team Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. About these ads © ToffeeWeb