Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps and Chelsea striker Sam Kerr have been nominated for the BBC‘s Women’s Footballer of the Year 2023.
The two WSL stars are shortlisted alongside Wolfsburg’s Alexandra Popp and Barcelona pair Aitana Bonmati & Fridolina Rolfo for the prize.
Players, coaches, administrators and journalists made up a panel of experts who chose the five nominees but the general public will be involved in picking the winner. To vote for your favourite, you can head over to the BBC website here.
Fans only have until 9 AM GMT on Friday 3rd November to vote, with the winner being announced on Tuesday 28th November.
United’s No.1 gets the recognition she deserves
Earps has had an outstanding year for club and country. The 30-year-old was part of the Manchester United team that only narrowly missed out on the WSL title last season.
At international level, the keeper has gone from strength to strength after becoming the Lionesses No.1. In 2022, she played every minute as England won the European Championships.
Last summer, Earps was again ever-present as Sarina Wiegman’s team made it all the way to the World Cup final. Although they lost to Spain, England’s No.1 was recognised for her individual performances with the Golden Glove award.
Chelsea’s star striker continues to shine
Kerr was instrumental as the Blues secured a league and cup double last campaign, scoring an impressive 29 times in all competitions. The Australian scored the only goal of the game to seal victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup back in May, having also helped her team beat the same opponents to the WSL title.
The forward was set to take centre stage at the World Cup, which was co-hosted by her own country Australia. However, an injury meant that she only came to the fore in the knockout stages.
Kerr scored a spot-kick in the penalty shootout which helped the Matildas beat France in the quarter-finals. The 30-year-old then went on to score her first goal of the tournament in the semi-finals against England with a spectacular long-range effort. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as the Lionesses sealed a 3-1 victory.
