Kay Rawlins, the co-founder and longtime community ambassador for Orlando City SC and the Orlando Pride, is stepping away after 15 years of helping build professional soccer in downtown Orlando. Her run included launching a women's team, building youth and charitable programs, and shaping match-day traditions that spilled across nearby neighborhoods. For a figure widely credited with turning Orlando into a recognizable soccer city, the decision is a clear turning point.
In a letter posted to the club's website, Rawlins wrote, "I will be retiring on March 13." She called the move bittersweet and thanked fans, volunteers, and colleagues for the "packed houses" and community support that defined her years with the clubs. The full note is published on the club's site, according to Orlando City.
Rawlins arrived in Orlando in 2010 alongside then-husband Phil Rawlins when they relocated a minor-league franchise from Austin, a gamble that set the organization on a path to MLS and, two years later, to the creation of the Pride. A native of Stoke-on-Trent, England, she has often described those early Orlando years as gritty, grassroots work powered by volunteers and city partners. That backstory is detailed by Florida Trend, and WKMG's Jamie Seh later sat down with Rawlins to reminisce about the climb. The WKMG piece also noted Orlando City's six straight MLS playoff berths and the Pride's current championship momentum, per WKMG.
From Citrus Bowl to Inter&Co Stadium
The club's move from the old Citrus Bowl into a purpose-built downtown venue in 2017 helped lock in that growth. Inter&Co Stadium now hosts both the Lions and the Pride, turning home dates into full-scale city events. Rawlins was a constant presence in that evolution, using the building and its programs to connect Parramore and the surrounding downtown neighborhoods to the team. Local transit and venue guides list Inter&Co Stadium squarely in the downtown core, according to Moovit, and national coverage has already chronicled the Pride's 2024 Shield-and-Championship sweep, per ESPN.
Legacy Beyond Trophies
Off the field, Rawlins helped build the Orlando City Foundation, steering youth soccer efforts, food drives, and inclusive initiatives that tied the club to local nonprofits. Business reporting has followed ownership shifts over the years, including the Wilf family's 2021 purchase of the clubs, a move Rawlins has said left the teams in "very good hands." Those transitions and the foundation's community impact have been chronicled in regional briefings by the Orlando Economic Partnership.
Rawlins said she plans to spend more time with family and travel, but made clear she does not intend to vanish from match day entirely. "I will always be part of this family," she wrote. The club has said it will lay out how her ambassadorial and community-focused duties will continue in the coming weeks. For many fans, volunteers, and young players she mentored, her retirement feels less like a goodbye than a passing of the torch, an organizational next chapter rather than a final farewell, according to Orlando City.
