When U.S. soccer star Alex Morgan joined the San Diego Wave in 2021, she committed to building up the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club, finishing her career here and investing in the city she calls home.

Why it matters: Four years later, the Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup champion has cemented her legacy on the team, as a player and investor, and is now building her next phase in San Diego, off the pitch.

Driving the news: The Wave is retiring Morgan's jersey at its game against the Houston Dash on Sunday, making her just the third NWSL player to receive that honor.

• City buildings will be lit with Wave colors all weekend, a new mural was painted in North Park, and her No. 13 jersey will be unveiled at Snapdragon Stadium in a post-match ceremony.
• With more than 100 family and friends coming to Sunday's game, it's "another chance to be able to celebrate and enjoy and honor this city," Morgan told Axios.
• The celebration comes one year after she announced her retirement, her pregnancy and the final game of a career in which she became the face of American soccer for a generation and one of the most successful players in U.S. soccer history.

The big picture: During her career, Morgan fought for gender equity, equal pay, NWSL players' rights, and accountability for abuse. She's also brought visibility to the challenges moms face as professional athletes.

• Off the field, she's supporting women in San Diego through the Alex Morgan Foundation, which launched in 2023.
• With the foundation, Morgan is focused on creating opportunities for girls through sports, building confidence and self-esteem and helping new moms "in the way that our current government doesn't," she told Axios.

Zoom in: Morgan partnered with Rady Children's Hospital to create the Confident Closet at the Chadwick Center for Children & Families to give kids who've gone through trauma at home new clothes, shoes and other items.

• Morgan also fuels the Let's Go South Bay! girls empowerment camps that bring about 50 girls to Southwestern College for a free weeklong soccer camp.
• She's helped fund childcare services and open mini sport courts at local YMCAs, creating safe places for kids to play in their neighborhoods.

Between the lines: With Morgan's husband, Servando Carrasco, being from San Diego, they moved here knowing this was their family's forever home.

• "I made a commitment to not only the club, but the city," Morgan said. "I was moving to San Diego to be a San Diegan."

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Now that she's retired from professional soccer, Alex Morgan is enjoying life with her husband, two young kids and mom friends who don't know she's a soccer legend.

She told Axios what her ideal day in San Diego looks like:

☕️ 🥾 The morning would start with getting coffee at Ironsmith in downtown Encinitas, followed by a family hike at Torrey Pines or Annie's Canyon.

🥪 🏖️ In the afternoon, she'd enjoy Board & Brew sandwiches on the beach, with La Jolla, Del Mar or Cardiff State Beach among her favorites.

• "What's a day in San Diego without going to the beach?" she noted.

🥘 🏟️ At night, she's going to a Wave or Padres game and getting dinner at Callie — Chef Travis Swikard's upscale California-Mediterranean restaurant in East Village that many locals say is the best in the city.

🍷🌅 The best way for Morgan to end the day involves watching the sunset with a glass of wine, or riding e-bikes with the kids down to the cliffs overlooking the beach to take in the view.

Women's professional sports leagues are rapidly adding teams across the country, and San Diego has been a part of this expansion.

The big picture: Dozens of teams have played inaugural seasons over the past two years as part of new soccer, hockey, rugby and lacrosse leagues.

Zoom in: The San Diego Wave FC debuted in the NWSL in 2022.

• The San Diego Mojo, which started playing at Viejas Arena in 2024, is part of Major League Volleyball.
• The California Palms play in the new Premier Women's Lacrosse League.

The intrigue: "I'd love to have a WNBA team in San Diego," Morgan told Axios.

• She said she wants to see more women's professional sports teams in the city, and thinks we'll get there.

State of play: A San Diego WNBA team's home court could be Oceanside's Frontwave Arena, where the San Diego Clippers G-League team plays.

• The venue is hosting women's basketball at the inaugural Sports Illustrated Women's Games this fall.
• There's also a new 16,000-seat stadium planned for the multi-billion dollar Midway Rising redevelopment project that the San Diego City Council is expected to consider this fall.

🏘️ San Diego Unified has received more than a dozen proposals from developers to build affordable housing on five sites across the district, which could create as many as 1,500 units for employees. (Voice of San Diego)

🛠️ Construction of the $1.3 billion Otay Mesa East border crossing facility, which is expected to reduce wait times, should to start this fall after the U.S. and Mexican governments signed two key agreements. (Union-Tribune)

🛫 Spirit Airlines, which recently filed for bankruptcy, won't be flying out of San Diego anymore starting in October. (NBC7)

🚲 Chula Vista's new e-bike rules went into effect yesterday, making it illegal for kids under 12 to ride and for those under 18 to have passengers. (City News Service)