Sam Kerr calls for A-League investment to bring Matildas back home

[p]The 32-year-old, who moved to the U.S. when she joined National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) ‌side Gotham FC in June after six-and-a-half years with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/4fGZN2oK/"]Chelsea[/a], ‌said Australia's top women's league required further development despite the progress it ‌had made in recent years.[/p][p]Kerr said the competition had previously ‌benefited from the presence of national team players and Australians returning from stints overseas.[/p][p]"[b]We need to find a way to get all the best players back,[/b]" ‌Kerr told ABC Sport on Friday.[/p][p]"[b]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.[/b]"[/p][p]Player pay has been a key concern in the ​A-League Women, which offers lower salaries than Australia's other major women's domestic competitions and less than overseas soccer leagues.[/p][p]A-League Women players earned ⁠minimum salaries of $26,500 ​last year, lower than their counterparts at the NWSL whose minimum earnings in 2025 were $48,500.[/p][embed guid="9b12822f-2477-4e6b-818c-73680d026816" url="https://x.com/ESPNAusNZ/status/2072904333956407780" social-type="twitter" /][p]A new collective bargaining agreement bumped NWSL players' annual earnings to $50,500 in 2026. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rodman-trinity/ttMgtcMS/"]Trinity Rodman[/a], the highest paid player in NWSL ‌history, earns more than $2million a year.[/p][p]"[b]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,[/b]" Kerr said.[/p][p]Several of Australia's leading internationals, including [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/foord-caitlin/SMMIEghM/"]Caitlin Foord[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/catley-stephanie/8IK8PWMd/"]Steph Catley[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gorry-katrina/84mzbyJn/"]Katrina Gorry[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cooney-cross-kyra/YJviFi4B/"]Kyra Cooney-Cross[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fowler-mary/ryXzcOHS/"]Mary Fowler[/a], now play in Europe.[/p][p]Kerr said the A-League Women compared favourably with the NWSL in some respects, but still required greater backing to continue its growth.[/p][p]"T[b]he A-League's ‌probably more similar to the NWSL. It's more transitional, probably on ​the same level as the NWSL off the pitch with ‌things like that[/b]," she added.[/p][p]"[b]But I think the A-League probably needs a little bit more investment, a little bit more time.[/b]"[/p][p]The A-League Women and the NWSL were once among the world's premier women's leagues, but most of Australia's top players now ⁠play in Europe, with a ⁠few Matildas based in the ‌United States.[/p]