Wanamaker Award honors Carli Lloyd, Natasha Cloud

Lloyd brought her decorated playing career to a close this year after 16 years as a pro. Cloud was recognized for her long-running social justice work, especially her anti-racism campaigning.

Carli Lloyd (left) and Natasha Cloud (right) have been honored by organizers of the Wanamaker Award.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer (left) and Bruce Kluckhohn / AP (right)

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published Dec. 17, 2021, 1:04 p.m. ET

Soccer star Carli Lloyd is the winner of this year’s Wanamaker Award, and the event’s organizers have also honored basketball star Natasha Cloud for her work on and off the court.

Lloyd brought her decorated playing career to a close this year after 16 years as a pro. She won two World Cups, two Olympic golds and one bronze with the U.S. national team, scoring 134 goals in 316 games. The goals total is No. 3 in U.S. history and No. 4 in world history, and the caps total is No. 2 in both. Her total of 47 games played across World Cups and Olympics is the most in U.S. history; and her totals of 20 goals in major tournaments and four major-tournament titles rank No. 2.

At club level, Lloyd played for six teams across three leagues, two in the U.S. and one in Europe. Though she never won a club title on home soil, she won an English FA Cup with Manchester City in 2017 and helped Gotham FC reach this year’s NWSL Challenge Cup final. She also helped Gotham reach this year’s NWSL playoffs, ending an eight-year drought for the team formerly known as Sky Blue FC.

“I am honored to be recognized by the Wanamaker Award committee and the Philadelphia sports community with this award,” Lloyd said in a statement. “I hope my career will inspire young female athletes in the region to work hard to achieve their dreams and grow into the next generation of Olympic champions.”

Cloud, a Broomall native and St. Joseph’s University product now with the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, won the Robert P. Levy Community Service award. It was given for her long-running social justice work. Cloud opted out of the 2020 season to focus on anti-racism campaigning, participating in protests in D.C. and helping to make the Mystics’ arena a voting center. And she has not let up, speaking out often this year to lobby for passage of a new voting rights bill in Congress.

This winter, Cloud will be one of the leaders of the new Athletes Unlimited basketball tournament, helping to give WNBA players domestic games to play in during the league’s offseason so that they don’t have to go overseas to get paid.

“Carli and Natasha are not only world-class athletes, but they are also tremendous community ambassadors and advocates,” said Don Smolenski, the Eagles’ president and chair of PHL Sports. “On behalf of PHL Sports, we are honored to recognize them both for their inspirational accomplishments.”