30 Stunning Facts About Sam Kerr You Probably Didn’t Know Before

Sam Kerr, considered to be one of the best female footballers and strikers in the world, is world renowned for her "speed, skill, tenacity," and backflip goal celebrations. She has been nominated for the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year Award from 2018–2021 continuously. She won her 100th cap, in the Australia's first ever match against the Republic of Ireland, becoming the 10th Matilda in history to do so. In 2021, she published her first book - The Flip Out, in her autobiographical football themed children's book series, “Kicking Goals.” Here are some really interesting facts about the player you might have missed before:

"File:Sam-kerr-2017-algarve (cropped).jpg" by Thewomensgame at English Wikipedia is licensed under CC BY 4.0

1.  Kerr was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her "services to football," as part of the 2022 Australia Day Honours, becoming only the second Australian female footballer to receive such an honour after the inaugural Matildas' captain, Julie Dolan.
2.  She 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 four players to have been nominated in all editions of the award since its inception in 2018, ranking 5th, 7th and 3rd, respectively.
3.  She is the only female football player to have won the Golden Boot in three different leagues and three different continents – the W-League (Australia), NWSL (North America) and the the FAWSL (Europe).
4.  During the 2019 World Cup, she became the first Australian player (male or female) to score a hat trick at a World Cup tournament.
5.  She has also been shortlisted for The Best FIFA Women's Player consistently since 2017, ranking 10th, 9th, 11th, 7th, and 2nd, respectively.
6.  Samantha May Kerr was born on September 10, 1993 to Roger Kerr and Roxanne in East Fremantle, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia on Australia's west coast.
7.  Her father, a professional Australian rules footballer, was born in Kolkata, India, to an English father (a featherweight boxer) and an Indian mother who played basketball.
8.  Her mother comes from an athletic family of professional footballers in the West Australian Football League. Her mother’s uncle J. J. Miller was a champion jockey, who won the Melbourne Cup in 1966 with Galilee.
9.  Her brother Daniel Alan Kerr is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL).
10.  During her childhood days, she played Australian rules football with her father and her older brother Daniel Kerr. However, due to gender restrictions, she had to switch to soccer.

"Sam Kerr" by Dana K. O. is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

11.  At the age of 13, she was spotted by Perth Glory striker Bobby Despotovski who described her athleticism and raw talent as "exceptional."
12.  She first started playing soccer as a junior at Western Knights in Mosman Park, and soon trialled for the Western Australian State Team before moving to Perth Glory.
13.  At the age of 15, she made her debut for Perth Glory, during the 2009 W-League season, and was voted as the Players' Player at the 2009 W-League Awards. Her long range goal against Sydney FC in round 8, earned her the Goal of the Year Award.
14.  She scored her first international goal at the age of 16 during the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup final against North Korea, helping Australia draw 1–1 in full-time. This also led to her first international tournament champion’s trophy.
15.  She signed with the Western New York Flash in the year 2013, and started in 19 games, out of the 21 games she played in the season. She scored a total of six goals.
16.  During the 2014 season, she started all the 20 matches for Flash, and became the team’s leading scorer with a total of 9 goals. She also earned the NWSL Player of the Week Award for her performance in Week 9.
17.  At the age of 17, she was named to Australia's 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup squad and made her World Cup debut coming on as a substitute in the 79th minute of Australia's first group stage match against Brazil.
18.  In August 2014, Kerr returned to Perth Glory on a one-year deal as one of six national members to sign for Perth. However, her regular season was shortened due to a non-contact ankle injury.
19.  Perth gave her a one-year contract extension, before the start of the next season, during which she scored ten goals, leading the team to the Grand Final. She also earned the Julie Dolan Medal and the Penny Tanner Media MVP Award.
20.  She became the first marquee player of the W-League when she was reportedly offered $400,000 contract to stay in Perth, in October 2018.

"Sam Kerr and Maycee Bell" by Dana K. O. is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

21.  In July 2017, she was the top goalscorer at the inaugural Tournament of Nations in the United States, which included the hat-trick in Australia's 4–2 victory over Japan. She was named 2017 AFC Women's Footballer of the Year.
22.  In the 2017 season, Kerr set a new NWSL record when she scored 4 goals in a single game after being down 3–0 to Seattle Reign at halftime.
23.  During the season, she sat atop the all-time NWSL goalscoring table, with a record-breaking 17 goals, and won the NWSL Golden Boot and MVP award.
24.  At the end of the 2018 season, she scored 16 goals and won the Golden Boot for the second consecutive season, leading to her becoming the first player to win the NWSL Golden Boot more than once.
25.  She was named the 2019 NWSL MVP at the end of the 2019 season, becoming the first, and currently only, NWSL player to ever receive the award twice
26.  She was named the captain of the national team by newly appointed head coach Ante Milicic in February 2019. She was one of five nominees for the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year award that year.
27.  On November 13, 2019, Chelsea announced Kerr would be joining the club for the second half of the 2019–20 FA WSL season on a two-and-a-half year contract.
28.  She signed a two-year contract extension on November 16, 2021, which will see her with the club until the summer of 2024.
29.  She ended the 2021 season as the leading goalscorer in the WSL, with 23 goals, and was second in total assists with 10, behind only team-mate Fran Kirby.
30.  At the start of 2022, she scored 10 goals in 7 consecutive matches, becoming the first Chelsea player to do so in the history.
31.  Sam Kerr Net Worth: $1.5 Million