The All Whites and Wellington Phoenix midfielder Tim Brown has announced he will retire from football when the Phoenix' A-League campaign ends.
Brown says he's quitting to return to his studies, with a Masters degree in Management at either the London School of Economics or Cambridge University options for the 31-year-old.
Brown's announcement is all the more surprising as the All Whites are soon to begin their qualifying campaign for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
He missed out on getting on the field during the World Cup finals in South Africa after sustaining a shoulder injury against Australia in a lead-up game.
But Brown says when you embark on a journey like a World Cup qualifying campaign you have to give it everything, you can't be half-hearted and if you are starting to think about other things as he was, he couldn't be certain of giving 100 percent.
