Matildas captain and Chelsea FC striker Sam Kerr has made a brief return to Australia and is set to end a challenging year on a high personal note tonight in her home town, Perth.
The 32-year-old will marry long-term partner and former USA football international Kristie Mewis, 34, on New Year’s Eve—almost exactly two months before the Matildas play the opening match of the 2026 AFC Asian Cup against the Philippines, also in Perth.
One of Australia’s greatest ever football exports, Kerr began 2025 in difficult circumstances on and off the field.
Her glittering playing career remained on hold as she continued to rehab a serious ACL injury suffered in early 2024, while off the pitch she endured a controversial and very public court trial following charges of racially harassing a London police officer after a night out in 2023.
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Kerr was ultimately found not guilty of the police charges, and also returned to the field for Chelsea in late September before linking with the Matildas for their final AFC Asian Cup warm-up matches against New Zealand.
Before the AFC Asian Cup begins on March 1 is the small matter of tonight’s New Year’s Eve wedding, expected to be attended by more than 120 guests in Perth.
Kerr and Mewis first met in 2019 through their overlapping careers in the National US Women’s Soccer League, and have been engaged since 2023.
Mewis represented the United States on more than 50 occasions and played for several European clubs including West Ham United in the English Women’s Super League.
The couple welcomed a son, Jagger, in May.