Nepedia
Back to Discover
Advanced Reader
📖

Ada Hegerberg

sports Maturity 7-9 war conflict Next article →

This article covers sensitive topics: war_conflict. Parents can manage visibility in Parental Controls.

Ada Martine Stolsmo Hegerberg is a professional footballer from Norway. She plays as a striker for the French club Lyon. A striker is a player whose primary role is to score goals. Hegerberg is widely considered one of the greatest strikers in history. She also serves as the captain for the Norway national team.

Ada Hegerberg 2013
Ada Hegerberg 2013

Her career is defined by incredible scoring records and significant leadership on the pitch.

Her path to professional football began in Norway. She grew up in Sunndalsøra playing for Sunndal Fotball. Her older sister, Andrine, was her teammate during these early years. In 2007, the family moved to Kolbotn. Ada made her professional debut for Kolbotn in 2010. At age 16, she scored three goals in seven minutes. This achievement made her the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the Toppserien league.

20141015 - PSG-Lyon - 0662
20141015 - PSG-Lyon - 0662

She also won the league's Young Player of the Year award in 2011.

Hegerberg moved through several major European clubs to build her skill. She played for Stabæk in Norway, where she scored 25 goals in 18 matches during 2012. In 2013, she and her sister joined the German club 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam. She later transferred to Lyon in the summer of 2014. Her time at Lyon has been exceptionally successful. In her first season, she scored 26 goals in 22 league games. She helped Lyon win their ninth consecutive Division 1 Féminine title.

Ada Hegerberg 2019
Ada Hegerberg 2019

Her individual honors include some of the highest awards in the sport. On December 3, 2018, she became the first recipient of the Ballon d'Or Féminin. This is a prestigious award for the best female player in the world. She was also named BBC Women's Footballer of the Year in 2017 and 2019. Hegerberg holds the all-time record for goals in the UEFA Women's Champions League. She has scored 66 goals in that competition. She also holds the record for most goals in a single Champions League season with 15.

2019-05-17 Fußball, Frauen, UEFA Women's Champions League, Olympique Lyonnais - FC Barcelona StP 0706 LR10 by Stepro
2019-05-17 Fußball, Frauen, UEFA Women's Champions League, Olympique Lyonnais - FC Barcelona StP 0706 LR10 by Stepro

In 2019, Hegerberg achieved a rare feat known as a treble. A treble occurs when a team wins three major trophies in one season. During the 2019 UEFA Women's Champions League Final, she scored a hat-trick in just 16 minutes. This made her the first player to score three goals in a UWCL final. Lyon defeated Barcelona 4–1 to win the trophy. By the end of that season, Hegerberg had won 13 out of 15 possible trophies with Lyon.

2019-05-17 Fußball, Frauen, UEFA Women's Champions League, Olympique Lyonnais - FC Barcelona StP 0706 LR10 by Stepro
2019-05-17 Fußball, Frauen, UEFA Women's Champions League, Olympique Lyonnais - FC Barcelona StP 0706 LR10 by Stepro

Hegerberg has also faced significant personal and professional challenges. In 2017, she stopped playing for the Norway national team. This was a protest regarding the treatment of women's football by the NFF. She described the experience as mentally breaking. She eventually returned to the national team in March 2022. This return followed the appointment of Lise Klaveness as the new NFF president. In 2020, she suffered a serious injury. She ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament, which is a major knee ligament. This injury kept her off the field for 21 months. She successfully made her comeback in October 2021.

Beyond her physical skill, Hegerberg is a prominent activist. She uses her platform to advocate for gender equality and sustainability. She has worked with brands like Nike, Hublot, and Mastercard. She also serves as a global ambassador for the Danone Nations Cup. Hegerberg emphasizes the importance of role models for young girls. She encourages them to believe in themselves. Her career connects the world of elite sports with the movement for social change.

583 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (4)
File:20141015 - PSG-Lyon - 0662.jpg
20141015 - PSG-Lyon - 0662.jpg
File:2019-05-17 Fußball, Frauen, UEFA Women's Champions League, Olympique Lyonnais - FC Barcelona StP 0706 LR10 by Stepro.jpg
2019-05-17 Fußball, Frauen, UEFA Women's...
File:Ada Hegerberg 2013.jpg
Ada Hegerberg 2013.jpg
File:Ada Hegerberg 2019.jpg
Ada Hegerberg 2019.jpg
More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.