With US imports almost back up to pre-COVID levels – and blazing a trail this year – Melbourne Victory captain Kayla Morrison reveals why her compatriots can’t wait to get on the plane.
It’s safe to say the love affair is back on.
After the shockwaves of COVID, US footballers are flocking back to the Liberty A-League in style. There are 18 of us this season, close to the 20-plus seen each year before the pandemic shut down the world.
At the halfway point of the season, it’s interesting to see that 12 of the top 13 goalscorers this season are either Australian or American. It’s like the Stars and Stripes cohort has laid down a gauntlet, that’s been matched by a bunch of talented and (mostly) young Aussies.
To understand why the Americans love coming here, look at the footballing career path of my youth.
University, Olympics, World Cup, and then… overseas? These were the options for female footballers in America until the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) was formed in 2012.
When I was growing up in California, there was not a fully-realised professional league in the USA. However, you did hear about this professional and organised league in Australia, the W-League.
With big names like Megan Rapinoe coming to play for Sydney FC in 2011, it put Australia on the map. There have now been more than 100 Americans who have played in the W-League (now the Liberty A-League). And that can’t just be a coincidence.
In part is down to scheduling. The NWSL typically starts around April and ends in November – roughly the mirror of the Liberty A-League. It gives Americans the opportunity to head down under and give it their best shot in the A-Leagues.
What I tend to see happening is that someone in the NWSL might not be getting as much playing time as they want. They then step into the A-Leagues, get great playing time, tune up their skills, and show their NWSL coach what they can really contribute to their team. The stats speak for themselves. If you look at the top five goal scorers in this season’s Liberty A-League, currently three are from the US, led by Hannah Keane. Americans trying to prove themselves in the football world.
Let’s take Emina Ekic for instance. In 2022, she played 19 games for Racing Louisville, in the NWSL, starting five, and scoring two goals in a total of 671 minutes played. She came to Melbourne City, started five out of six games, scored four goals, and totalled 439 minutes.
If she hadn’t gotten injured, she could’ve really ran away in this league. What she has done however, is shown the people in the NWSL what she is capable of, if given the opportunity. Now I don’t know her personally, but as an outsider looking in, it seems like she accomplished what she came to do.
But there’s more to it than the calendar – there’s the whole idea of chasing summer. You might be thinking, there’s no way that’s a reason to come play in Australia. But let me tell you, that is the American dream. And let me let you in on another little secret… Americans might not be the most cultured humans you’ve ever met. But that’s because we don’t really travel outside of the US when we’re growing up.
People work and go to school their whole lives, there isn’t time for month long vacations to Bali! So, coming to play in the A-Leagues is an opportunity to travel to a new country, where your teammates will still speak English, and the place and weather itself isn’t too much different from where you grew up.
It’s a baby step in the way of becoming a world travelling footballer. And once one girl comes back to America from Australia, in great game shape, ready for the NWSL pre-season, and tanned, then all the other Americans are going to be asking why they didn’t do this in their off-season. Instead, they worked with a personal trainer, alone, in the middle of winter.
Positive word of mouth is just another reason why I think so many Americans have come to Australia to play in the A-Leagues. In fact, I personally came here because there was a girl who previously played at the same University as me, who had played for Sydney FC and loved her time there. Dani Weatherholt, the former Melbourne Victory midfielder has been quoted speaking this about the W-League: “I just heard great things from my former Australian teammates and they just recommended it was a good opportunity to grow.”
Word of mouth is such a powerful thing in women’s football. When trying to find a new team, the best advice is personal experience from others who have played there. You open up a conversation that allows you to find out what the pros and cons are of each league, team, and place. You compare those to what you are looking for and then that helps you make your decision. We value the opinion of others, so positive feedback about a league is monumental in decision making.
As a female footballer, I think it’s clear that we don’t play football to become millionaires (even though that would be nice). We play football because we love it. We love the experiences it allows us to have, the people it allows us to meet, and the places it allows us to live.
So if you’re an American looking to play in the Liberty A-League, let me be the positive word-of-mouth you’re looking for (I liked it so much I stayed here and have applied for Australian citizenship). The league here is great. The clubs are professional. The standard is high. The weather is warm. And the people are the nicest.
But if you do come… know that international spots are limited, so hold that visa spot with pride and show them why you earned it.
