Matildas’ Sam Kerr wins Australia’s Sports Personality of the Year award
Canberra, Dec 13 (IANS) Sam Kerr has been named Australia’s Sports Personality of the Year after leading the national women’s football team, the Matildas, for a hugely successful 12 months.
Kerr’s win was one of three for the Matildas at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Awards on Tuesday night with manager Alen Stajcic winning Coach of the Year and the Matildas winning Public Choice Team of the Year, reports Xinhua news agency.
The awards came after a year where the Matildas won the Tournament of Nations in August, defeating Japan, Brazil and host nation the United States (U.S.) for the first time.
Kerr, 24, has been the talisman of the Matildas meteoric rise, scoring 11 goals in her last six games for the national team including a brace against China in Melbourne in November.
She was named the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Footballer of the Year in November.
Kerr was not in attendance at the ceremony but in accepting the award for Team of the Year, her striking partner Lisa De Vanna said she was proud of what the team had achieved in 2017.
“To have a nation vote for us as the team of the year against some of the great sporting teams of Australia is fantastic,” De Vanna said.
“I have been around for a very long time and it used to be 400 of our friends and family that would come watch us. Now we have thousands of people wanting to watch us and engage with us and that is because we play good football,” she added.
Stajcic, whose name has been floated as a possible replacement for outgoing Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou, echoed De Vanna’s sentiments.
“To have received this kind of recognition and respect from the Australian public is unbelievable,” he said.
“To know that our team has had this kind of cut-through in the Australian sporting landscape is just mind-boggling,” he added.
Boxer Jeff Horn’s defeat of Manny Pacquiao was named Best Sporting Moment while hurdler Sally Pearson won Female Athlete of the Year.
