Chelsea forward Sam Kerr has been crowned the Football Writers’ Association Women’s Footballer of the Year for 2021/22, while Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been voted men’s footballer of the year by sportswriters in England. Salah previously won the award in 2018.
In February, the 29-year-old was part of the Liverpool side that beat Chelsea to lift the Carabao Cup.
Kerr, 28, is the leading scorer in the WSL and helped Chelsea secure their place in May’s FA Cup final against Manchester City.
“Both Mo and Sam have been outstanding this season, breaking records for club and country,” FWA chair Carrie Brown said.
“As well as their performances on the pitch, they are leaders and standard bearers of excellence at their clubs and respective leagues.”
“The fact they have won by such convincing margins underlines just how impressive they have been this season which has been recognized by our members.”
She is the current top scorer in the Women’s Super League with 18 goals, including the winner in Thursday’s hard-fought 2-1 win against Tottenham.
The women’s award, introduced in 2018, was open to the full FWA membership for the first time. It was previously decided by an expert panel.
Kerr captured 40% of the vote, ahead of Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema and Manchester City forward Lauren Hemp. Her club teammate Fran Kirby won last year.
The awards will be presented at an FWA dinner next Thursday.
Kerr started her career at the age of 15 with Perth Glory, where she played from 2008 to 2012, before transferring to Sydney FC. In 2013, she joined the Western New York Flash for the inaugural season of the NWSL and helped lead the team to win the NWSL Shield. She later played for Sky Blue FC and the Chicago Red Stars in the same league.
In 2019, Kerr indicated her interest in playing in Europe, and having fielded multiple offers from clubs such as Olympique Lyonnais, Kerr ultimately signed with Chelsea, winning six trophies within her first two seasons with the club, including back-to-back Women’s Super League titles, as well as helping the team reach the UEFA Women’s Champion’s League final for the first time in 2021.
She is the first and only Australian women’s footballer to be named to the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or Feminin 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. She has also been shortlisted for The Best FIFA Women’s Player consistently since 2017, ranking 10th, 9th, 11th, 7th, and 2nd, respectively. Kerr has also been nominated for the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year award from 2018–2021 and has been named to the Top 10 of The Guardian’s The 100 Best Female Footballers In The World from 2017–2021, ranking 3rd, 2nd, 1st, 6th and 3rd, respectively.
