Matildas superstar Sam Kerr has made no secret of her love for tattoos – and as the Australian captain was spotted at Brisbane Airport on Sunday night, the meaning behind some visible inkings piqued the interest of fans.
As the FIFA Women’s World Cup came to an end, the striker was spotted at the airport before taking a flight to her hometown of Perth.
New photographs showed the 29-year-old on the phone, with multiple tiny tattoos on display across her fingers – including an infinity symbol, the number 20, a kangaroo and a lotus.
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But what do the inkings really mean?
The Chelsea FC star appears to have first embraced body art with an infinity symbol on her pinky finger in 2018 – with the symbol representing eternity as the name suggests.
Other meanings include a never-ending loop, wholeness or an unbreakable bond of a friendship or relationship.
The number 20 appeared to be tattooed on Kerr’s third finger, next to the pinky, in late 2021.
The double digit is quite meaningful to the footballer as it’s the number she wears on her jerseys while playing for Australia and the FA Women’s Super League.
According to her Instagram feed, Kerr’s kangaroo tattoo only appeared in early 2023 in the months leading up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand.
The marsupial could be representation of her home country, as it’s a native animal featured on Australia’s Commonwealth Coat of Arms.
The shield is held up by the kangaroo and the emu, which were chosen to symbolise a nation moving forward – based on the fact that neither animal can move backwards easily.
Kerr also has a lotus inked near her fingertip on the same finger as the number 20 tattoo.
The lotus could be a nod to her Indian heritage – Kerr’s father, Roger, was born in Kolkata, India, to an English father and an Indian mother.
It’s something Kerr has previously spoken proudly of.
“My Indian heritage is something I’m really proud of and I know my nanna’s really proud that I’m representing young Indian girls whenever I go out there and play,” she told Forbes back in 2021, referring to her paternal grandmother, Coral.
The lotus flower is said to symbolise beauty, purity, and spiritual awakening in Hindu belief.
Over the years, Kerr has proudly displayed her body art – including a bird on her wrist and the hidden word ‘Swag’ inked between her fingers.
Just weeks ago, Kerr’s girlfriend Kristie Mewis, who plays for the USA football team, also sent fans wild when she posted an intimate picture of herself showing a tiny ink on her own body.
A photo shared to Instagram showed the blonde in bikini with the tiny text ‘baby’ tattooed her inner thigh, believed to be a tribute to her Australian girlfriend.
Kerr responded to a picture of Mewis’ football boots, saying: “Didn’t make the boots”, to which her American girlfriend cheekily responded along with a wink emoji: “You made my thigh.”
The captain quickly replied: “Sccccuzzzzimwa.”
Kerr and Mewis met for the first time during the COVID lockdowns of 2020, and the pair began chatting online before spending two weeks in quarantine together.
“We had to spend two weeks together. I was thinking, ‘If I don’t like her this is going to be awkward’,” Kerr told Gaffer Magazine earlier this year.
They were first photographed together in 2021 during the Tokyo Olympics, when America defeated Australia in the women’s football semi-finals.
Less than a week later, the couple went “Insta official” when Kerr posted a photo of them kissing.
Since then, they’ve become an iconic “power couple” for the LGBTQI+ community.
“We’re not private people,” Kerr told Gaffer.
“I like sharing my story. I like sharing who I am outside of football.”
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