Following three seasons at Wolves and her time playing football spanning over 20 years, defender Kelly Darby has announced her retirement from the game.
The 29-year-old has made the decision to hang up her boots to prioritise spending time with her young family.
Darby joined Wolves in the summer of 2020 and went on to make 42 appearances in Old Gold, scoring five times.
She was an integral member throughout her time at the club, at times as captain, and helped Dan McNamara’s side to promotion in 2021, the Northern Premier Division title in 2021/22 and back-to-back Birmingham County Cups.
Aged just six when she started kicking a ball, Darby was soon recognised for her talent and joined Aston Villa’s junior ranks at eight.
A short trip across the Midlands saw Darby arrive at West Bromwich Albion where she spent five seasons and captained them to the brink of promotion to the Championship before losing to Brighton in the National League play-off final.
She later spent two years at Nottingham Forest and had a short stint at Derby County before her switch to Molineux.
Darby enjoyed some iconic moments in Old Gold, notably scoring in the memorable FA Cup victory at Watford in April 2021.
Head coach McNamara has paid tribute to Darby and said: “It’s absolutely unbelievable, what Kelly has done for Wolves. She’s helped shape the future of the programme through her leadership qualities and how she’s held standards as my vice-captain and captain at times in Anna Price’s absence.
“The amount of respect she commands from not just our group, but the wider football community shows how much she’s achieved in the game. She’s a legend in the Midlands in regards to football – there’s not many people that don’t know who Kelly Darby is or many people who’ve not been on the end of a Kelly Darby tackle.
“She won’t be a stranger and we hope to still see her around. What I’ve developed with her is a really good friendship over the last three years. She’s really helped me as an individual with her honesty and openness to develop in the female game. I’d like to thank her for that and wish her and her family every success going forward.”
