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Sam Kerr is widely regarded as the 'deadliest striker' in women's football in the modern era and here's all you need to know about the Australia and Chelsea star.
Since the start of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Sam Kerr has been in the headlines despite her struggles with injury.
Kerr was ruled out of Australia’s opening group B game against Ireland and ended up missing all three matches in the group stage, although, the Matildas progressed to the round of 16 stages.
However, the prolific Chelsea striker made her first appearance in the 2023 World Cup in the 80th minute of the Matildas' win in the round-of-16 clash with Denmark.
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Australia and New Zealand are the host nation of this year’s global showpiece in women’s football.
However, the Matildas team have surpassed expectations and booked their place in the round of 16 against the Lionesses of England in what is expected to be an epic clash in the 2023 Women’s World Cup semi-finals.
In this article, Pulse Sports will reveal the top facts you need to know about Australia women’s talisman and one of the most prolific strikers in women’s football in the modern era - Sam Kerr.
Sam Kerr: 13 Interesting facts about the best player at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup
1. Who is Sam Kerr?
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Samantha May Kerr is a 29-year-old Australian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Chelsea in the FA Women's Super League and the Australia women's national team (the Matildas), which she has captained since 2019.
Sam Kerr is widely regarded as one of the best forwards of all time and one of the greatest female footballers of her generation.
Sam Kerr is known for her "speed, skill, tenacity", and famous backflip goal celebrations.
She is widely considered one of the best footballers, and strikers, in the world, and one of Australia's greatest athletes.
Kerr is also considered to be the best player at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup due to her ratings in EA Sports FIFA 23 Women's World Cup edition for which she is ranked the highest-rated player alongside Spain's Alexia Putellas.
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Kerr started her career at the age of 15 with Perth Glory where she played from 2008 to 2012, before moving to Sydney FC.
In 2013, she joined the Western New York Flash for the inaugural season of the NWSL and helped lead the team to win the NWSL Shield.
She later played for Sky Blue FC and the Chicago Red Stars in the same league.
In 2019, Kerr indicated her interest to play in Europe, and having fielded multiple offers from clubs such as Olympique Lyonnais, Kerr ultimately signed with Chelsea opting to wear the no. 20 jersey which she currently sports for her national team.
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So far with the Blues, Kerr has won 8 trophies, including back-to-back-to-back Women's Super League titles, as well as helping the team reach the UEFA Women's Champions League final for the first time in 2021.
Kerr earned her first senior international cap in 2009 at the age of 15 and has since represented Australia at the 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup tournaments, the 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023 FIFA Women's World Cups, and the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.
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During the 2019 World Cup, Kerr became the first Australian player to score a hat trick at a World Cup tournament.
In 2021, she captained the team to their historic first-ever semi-final of a major tournament during the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics, resulting in their best-ever 4th-place finish.
2. Sam Kerr Age
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Sam Kerr was born on September 10, 1993, in East Fremantle, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia.
As of August 2023, she is 29 years old.
She is the daughter of Roxanne and Roger Kerr.
Kerr was born to a sporting family as her father, Roger was a professional Australian rules football player, born in Calcutta to an English father (a featherweight boxer) and an Indian mother who played basketball.
Her mother Roxanne also comes from a sporting family: her father Harry and uncle Con Regan were professional footballers in the West Australian Football League and another uncle J. J. Miller was a champion jockey who won the Melbourne Cup in 1966 with Galilee.
3. She was the first female footballer to grace the cover of the defunct EA Sports FIFA franchise
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In July 2022, it was announced that Sam Kerr would feature on the cover of the Ultimate edition of FIFA 23 alongside PSG superstar Kylian Mbappé.
That was the first time a female player would appear on the global cover of the game franchise.
Although, in 2018, she was featured on the cover of the Australian version of the FIFA 19 video game.
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New artwork featuring Kerr on the cover of FIFA 23 was also released by EA SPORTS for the 2023 Women's World Cup.
Sam Kerr was crowned world's best women's footballer in the FIFA 23 Women's World Cup - alongside Spain's Alexia Putellas.
4. Sam Kerr is Australia’s all-time international leading scorer in both men's & women’s football
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At the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup, Sam Kerr scored 5 goals in Australia's opening match of the group stage against Indonesia, and in the process, equalled and surpassed the Australian international goal-scoring record, among both male and female Australian internationals, previously set by Tim Cahill (50 international goals).
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Kerr was also able to achieve the feat within fewer matches, needing 105 matches to equal the 50 goals set by Cahill, who set the record within 108 international appearances.
Despite the Matildas’ elimination in the quarter-finals of the tournament, she won the Golden Boot, scoring 7 goals in 4 matches.
5. She is one of the highest-paid female Australian athletes in the world
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As of August 2023, Sam Kerr is one of the highest-paid female Australian athletes in the world.
She is one of the faces of women’s football globally and one of the most marketable female footballers in the world having penned a mega-money deal with kit giants Nike.
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In 2021, she became the first Australian female footballer to top $1million and her stock has only risen since having impressed heavily for Chelsea and the Matildas.
6. She is also the highest-paid female footballer in the world
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As of August 2023, Sam Kerr is the highest-paid female footballer on the planet.
At Chelsea, Kerr earns an annual salary of €480,000, as per Football Transfers.
Much like the men’s game, women’s footballers are paid vastly differently depending on their quality, age, marketability, and a host of other factors.
7. She is openly Lesbian
Sam Kerr is openly homosexual.
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She is currently in a relationship with American women's footballer Kristie Mewis.
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However, Kerr previously dated former Perth Glory and Chicago Red Stars teammate Nikki Stanton.
8. Sam Kerr Social Media
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Pulse Sports reported that Sam Kerr is one of the most-followed female footballers at the 2023 FIFA World Cup.
Kerr is also one of the most-followed female footballers in the world, boasting more than 1.4 million followers on her Instagram account.
9. She won back-to-back Golden Boots in the FA Women’s Super League
Samantha Ker needed little time to announce herself in the FA WSL.
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Since her arrival in 2019, she has won back-to-back Golden Boots in the 2020-21 season and the 2022-23 season, finishing the league campaign with 21 goals and 20 goals respectively.
10. She is the 2nd female Australian footballer in history to be awarded the 'OAM'
As part of the 2022 Australia Day Honours, Sam Kerr was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her "services to football", becoming only the second Australian female footballer to receive such an honour after the inaugural Matildas' captain and legend, Julie Dolan.
11. She is the all-time leading goalscorer in the NWSL
As of August 2023, Sam Kerr is the all-time leading scorer in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the United States.
At the age of 23, Kerr sat atop the all-time NWSL goalscoring table and won the NWSL Golden Boot and MVP award after finishing the 2017 season with a record-breaking 17 goals for Sky Blue FC.
12. She is the only female soccer player to have a Golden Boot in three different leagues
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As of August 2023, Samantha Kerr is the only female soccer player to have won the Golden Boot in three different leagues and on three different continents – the W-League (Australia/New Zealand) in 2017–18 and 2018–19, the NWSL (North America) in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and the FAWSL (Europe) in 2020–21 and 2021–22.
13. Sam Kerr Achievements
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Sam Kerr was awarded the 2017 and 2018 Julie Dolan Medal as the best player in Australia, is a record five-time recipient of the PFA Australian Women's Footballer of the Year, awarded it in 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022, and was named International Player of the Year by the Football Media Association in 2013 and 2014.
She received the ESPY Award for Best International Women's Soccer Player in 2018, 2019, and 2022,[12] and was nominated for the award in 2021.
She also won the ESPY Award for Best NWSL Soccer Player in 2019, and was nominated for the award in 2018.
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In 2022 and in 2023, Kerr was awarded the FWA Women's Footballer of the Year.
Sam Kerr is the first and only Australian women's footballer to be named to the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or Féminin, and one of only two players (alongside France international Wendie Renard) to have been nominated in all editions of the award since its inception in 2018, ranking 5th, 7th, 3rd, and 3rd respectively.
She has also been shortlisted for The Best FIFA Women's Player consistently since 2017, ranking 10th, 9th, 11th, 7th, and 2nd, respectively.
Kerr has also been nominated for the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year award from 2018 to 2022 and has been named to the Top 10 of The Guardian's The 100 Best Female Footballers In The World from 2017 to 2022, ranking 3rd, 2nd,1st, 6th, 3rd, and 3rd, respectively.
Individually, she has set and broken over 45 records from 2009 till date, having won a host of accolades in her trophy-laden career.
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