Australian soccer icon Sam Kerr is making her way back to the National Women’s Soccer League, and she’s bringing an impressive collection of hardware with her.
The 32-year-old forward has signed with Gotham FC, completing what she describes as a full-circle journey after spending the past six and a half years with Chelsea in England. During that stretch, Kerr helped lift the London club to 11 major trophies, including five Women’s Super League championships.
Kerr is no stranger to the NWSL — she actually holds the league’s all-time scoring record and was named its Most Valuable Player twice, despite having been away from the competition for years. She previously suited up for the club from 2015 to 2017, when it was still called Sky Blue FC, and also had a stint with Chicago.
“When I was here previously, I was just like a young kid. I was striving to be the best,” Kerr said at a press conference Thursday. “I come back with a lot of experience and a lot of trophies under my belt.”
The 2023 Ballon d’Or runner-up pointed to Gotham’s track record as a key factor in her decision to return as a free agent. The club claimed the NWSL championship in both 2023 and 2025, making it, in Kerr’s view, the closest thing to the competitive environment she experienced at Chelsea.
She also noted that the style of play in the NWSL presents a different kind of challenge. “The NWSL is more open, it’s more counter-attacking, it’s more, I guess, physically demanding,” she said. “Most games that we played for Chelsea, we would go in expecting to win. I think in the NWSL, it’s a much more even playing field, which is quite different and something I loved about the league when I was here.”
Beyond soccer, Kerr has personal reasons for planting her feet in the United States. Her partner, midfielder Kristie Mewis, is American, and the couple’s young son Jagger even made an appearance at Thursday’s press conference, climbing onto Kerr’s lap during the event.
Kerr’s new contract runs through 2030, giving her the kind of long-term stability she didn’t have earlier in her career. “Last time I played in the NWSL, I was moving around every two years and I didn’t want to do that this time,” she said. “I wanted to commit to somewhere and put roots down somewhere and allow myself to get comfortable in the league, get comfortable with the team that I’m in.”
