Images via Twitter The Western Australian Government recently announced the newly constructed State Football Centre will officially be renamed in honour of Sam Kerr. The $50.8 million ‘Sam Kerr Football Centre’, was funded by the State and Commonwealth governments and includes a two-storey grandstand, two competition and training pitches plus three five-a-side playing areas. Five teams used the facilities as a base during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup earlier this year, but the main purpose of the venue is to develop the next generation of Western Australian football players.At a recent community festival celebrating the official opening of the centre, Kerr said: “As a proud West Australian, I am incredibly privileged to have this amazing State Football Centre named after me. “It fills me with pride to think that football in Western Australia is growing so rapidly in popularity and that children, at a grassroots level, as well as world-class sporting teams will be able to access these impressive facilities.“Football centres, such as this, create opportunitiesfor kids that enable them to reach their full potential,and that is the ultimate goal.”Primer of Western Australia, Roger Cook, also announced an additional $9.3 million investment in grassroots football clubs, facilities and infrastructure along with the opening of the centre. Chelsea forward and Matildas’ captain Kerr grew up in East Fremantle, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, and represented W-League side Perth Glory on two separate occasions between 2012 and 2019. During that time, the two-time W-League Player of the Year also moved Stateside where she became the NWSL’s all-time leading goalscorer, picking up three Golden Boots and two MVP awards in the process. In the last three years, Kerr’s broken countless records with Women’s Super League side Chelsea including becoming the first player to score 20 goals in back-to-back seasons. The four-time WSL champion and UEFA Champions League runner-up has inspired countless players – in Australia and beyond – to pick up a pair of boots and smash through glass ceilings. The ‘Sam Kerr Football Centre’ won’t only cement Kerr’s on-pitch legacy as Australia’s top goalscorer (men’s or women’s) but will help to shape the future of women’s football in Western Australia. Who knows, the next SK20 could step through the facilities’ doors in the coming months. Watch this space. Take a closer look at the ‘Sam Kerr Football Centre’ below.