Durham Cestria's Clarke retiring on her own terms
The former Lioness is playing in the FA WNL as she transitions out of football
Jess Clarke did not want to leave football altogether, playing with Durham Cestria meant she did not have to.
The former England international took a step back from full-time football last October to pursue a career opportunity outside of the game.
Clarke ended her professional career with Barclays Women’s Championship club Durham, who are helping her transition out of football by setting her up with their sister club Cestria in the FA Women’s National League.
“I’m at the moment transitioning out of football, every couple of weeks I will play just for the enjoyment,” said Clarke.
“At this moment in time, I am trying to find my feet away from football. It is one of those difficult things, you can’t play football forever.
“In the grand scheme of things, I am still young but in football I am 34 now so I have got to look at life at football.
“Durham have helped me with the transition as I am playing for their sister club, so I have still got a nice balance and the support of the club.
“When I spoke with them, they completely understood, and they said ‘How about this? Why don’t we do this for you?’
“It was absolutely brilliant because I was so emotional and didn’t know if I could say goodbye completely and it has been amazing so far.”
Clarke represented England 52 times and also turned out for Notts County and Liverpool in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
Injury troubles followed her from the Reds to Sheffield United and Durham where she refound her groove before calling time on her career.
After a few weeks away from playing, Clarke began representing Durham Cestria and has made four appearances as the North East club have challenged at the top of Division One North.
For Clarke, football has been an outlet as she has made her way into the world of social work.
She added: “Prior to me ever playing football, I always had a passion for helping people, helping people that might have gone through care or the system, or vulnerable people.
“I got offered a great opportunity to go and help individuals, so I took the opportunity, and I thought it was the right time for me.
“It was something I wanted to look into after football and branch out. I’m still new into it, I’m still finding my feet but it is something that I am really enjoying and I have got a nice balance of still playing football.
“Durham have been fantastic, they are helping me with the transition, and I have got the PFA [Professional Footballers Association] who are helping me as well.
“It is not like I have completely left football behind, I’ve got the support there which is fantastic, but I just felt the time was right.”
Clarke was plagued by a cartilage issue while at Liverpool and was told she may never play football again.
The Leeds native describes herself as coming from a diverse background and was raised by a young mum and sees herself as owing her life to football.
Therefore, not coming back from her injury was not an option and with support from Sheffield United and Durham she was able to make a full recovery and leave the professional game on her own terms.
For how long Clarke will continue to play is unsure, she was speaking at the Copa del Cure Leukaemia tournament in partnership with Women in Football, just another way she is keeping links to the game.
But one thing is for certain, whatever Clarke is doing she will never be far away from football.
“With the excitement around women’s football, I just want to continue that and sometimes we can get lost just looking at the player,” Clarke said.
“With my background, I don’t think a lot of people know about my journey, how I got into football, the difficulties and obstacles I have overcome, and I would like to share that journey with some people who may be struggling and offer that support away from the pitch as well as on the pitch.
“That is going to be one of my aims moving forward in that sector and hopefully I can still play my part in the women’s game and offer help.
“Football was a huge escape, it helped me get out of the difficult things I was dealing with at home, and it provided a sense of identity not only for me but my family as well.
“I will be forever grateful for football because I don’t know where I would be without it.
“It helped me find myself, helped me get an education and it made me the person I am today, so I am really grateful for that.”