Sam Kerr says A-League must find way to bring Matildas back, pay more

Australian football superstar Sam Kerr has urged the A-League Women (ALW) to significantly increase investment, stating it's crucial for attracting top players, including her Matildas teammates, back to the domestic competition. Kerr, who recently returned to the United States to play for Gotham FC after a highly successful six-and-a-half-year spell with Chelsea, believes improved financial conditions and a higher league standard are necessary.

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We need to find a way to get all the best players back.

"We need to find a way to get all the best players back," Kerr told ABC Sport. "If it paid enough and it was a top league, a lot of us Matildas would go back, but to better ourselves for the national team, we have to go overseas." She noted that the league was more competitive when national team players and overseas professionals participated regularly, creating a higher standard of training and development for future generations.

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If it paid enough and it was a top league, a lot of us Matildas would go back, but to better ourselves for the national team, we have to go overseas.

Kerr's comments reflect ongoing concerns within the ALW regarding player compensation, which is reportedly the lowest among Australia's major women's domestic sports competitions. While the league has seen growth, it remains largely semi-professional, making it difficult to retain or attract elite talent who often seek better opportunities abroad. Kerr herself chose to return to the US, citing a desire to be closer to her wife Kristie Mewis's family and to compete for trophies in a league she feels is comparable to the NWSL off the pitch.

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I think the A-League was thriving, or the W-League back then was thriving when the national team players and players from the NWSL, players from England were coming over, and whether it was a guest stint or playing, you had the best players in the league, week in, week out, training with our future generation.

"I felt like I'd achieved almost everything that I wanted to with Chelsea. So it was just time for change," Kerr explained her move. She believes the A-League is similar to the NWSL in terms of its transitional nature and off-field operations but requires more investment and time to reach a comparable level of professionalization and player remuneration. Her return to the US league, where she previously played for Sky Blue FC (now Gotham FC), has already seen her make an influential cameo appearance, highlighting her immediate impact on the pitch.

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I felt like I'd achieved almost everything that I wanted to with Chelsea. So it was just time for change.