sport news Who is Canadian footballer Quinn? Meet transgender star who has made history at ... trends now
Canadian midfielder Quinn made history last week as they became the first out trans and non-binary footballer to play at a World Cup.
Quinn started Canada's match against Nigeria on Friday, with the game ending in a goalless draw.
The 27-year-old played the full 90 minutes, but was unable to help the team find a breakthrough as their campaign got off to a frustrating start.
Canada are ranked seventh in the world and are one of the favourites for the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, with Quinn's side set to also face Republic of Ireland and Australia in their group.
In light of the history-making appearance on Friday, Mail Sport provides everything you need to know about Quinn.
Quinn has become the first out trans and non-binary player to play at a World Cup
Quinn (pictured) played the full game as Canada drew with Nigeria on Friday at the World Cup
Quinn, formerly Rebecca Quinn, was born in Toronto, Canada, on August 11 1995.
Growing up with three sisters, Quinn started playing football from the age of six and it quickly became clear they had a talent for the game.
They went to Duke University where Quinn became the first Canadian to play for the Duke Blue Devils soccer team between 2013 to 2018, while majoring in biology.
After originally featuring as a defender, they eventually developed into a midfielder and were awarded the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference Midfielder of the Year award in 2017.
During Quinn's time at university, they also represented Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympics when the country won bronze after previously debuting for the national team in 2014 aged 18.
Quinn is accustomed to creating history after becoming the first out trans and non-binary athlete to compete at the Olympics two years ago.
That proved to be a triumphant tournament for Canada as they won gold in Tokyo.
Quinn has long-been touted for greatness in the game and shone while playing at university
In September 2020, Quinn took to social media to come out publicly as trans and non-binary.
In a detailed post on Instagram they shared the news which included Quinn highlighting their desire to be 'visible to queer folks who don't see people like them on their feed'.
Quinn uses the pronouns 'they' and 'them' and was allowed to continue playing professional women's soccer on the basis of their sex assigned at birth.
The midfielder is subsequently a role model for all trans and non-binary people around the world.
Quinn came out as trans and non-binary in a brave and detailed post on Instagram in 2020
At the time she also said: 'I want to be a visible figure for young trans folks or people questioning their gender, people exploring their gender.
'Because unfortunately when I was growing up, and even going through that process of figuring out myself in college, I didn't have those people in the public sphere to look up to.
'There are several trans athletes and several trans people in media and politics, but I just think those faces are not common enough.
'I want to be a visible trans person succeeding in my job, so that younger trans folks could see that they did have an avenue to go and that they would have a future and a career ahead of them.'
The midfielder has regularly talked about her desire to be a role model for young trans people
After excelling at Duke University, Quinn became the highest drafted Canadian in National Women's Soccer League history when they were snapped up third overall by the Washington Spirit in 2017.
After a year with the club, they moved to France to play for Paris FC ahead of the 2019 Women's World Cup in the country.
