Australia’s superstar striker returns to the US after a seven-year absence – and will find a vastly changed landscape
When Sam Kerr last played for the National Women’s Soccer League’s Big Apple-adjacent club, it was called Sky Blue and the playing conditions were abysmal. The Australia striker spent three years (from 2015-17) accruing accolades for a team bereft of locker rooms or running water at its training facility.
This month, she came back to a vastly evolved franchise that has won two NWSL Championships in three seasons while implementing a comprehensive overhaul of its players, personnel and prioritization of player conditions.