Ada Hegerberg facts for kids
Hegerberg in 2019
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Ada Martine Stolsmo Hegerberg | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 10 July 1995 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Molde, Norway | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | |||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Lyon | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 14 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| Sunndal | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Kolbotn | 31 | (15) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Stabæk | 18 | (25) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Turbine Potsdam | 25 | (11) | |||||||||||||
| 2014– | Lyon | 166 | (174) | |||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Norway U15 | 3 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2010 | Norway U16 | 8 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Norway U17 | 5 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2011 | Norway U19 | 12 | (10) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Norway U20 | 9 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| 2011– | Norway | 94 | (51) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 June 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 July 2025 |
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Ada Martine Stolsmo Hegerberg is a famous Norwegian football player. She was born on July 10, 1995. She plays as a striker for Lyon, a top club in France. She also leads the Norway national team as captain. Many people think she is one of the best football players in the world.
Ada played for Norway's youth teams before joining the main national team in 2011. She helped Norway win a silver medal at the UEFA European Championship in 2013. She also played for Norway in the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015 and the UEFA European Championships in 2017 and 2022.
Ada won the UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe Award in 2016. She was also named BBC Women's Footballer of the Year in 2017 and 2019. In 2018, she made history by becoming the first woman to win the Ballon d'Or Féminin award. She holds the record for scoring the most goals in a single UEFA Women's Champions League season (15 goals). She is also the all-time top goalscorer in the UEFA Women's Champions League with 66 goals.
Club Career Highlights
Early Years in Norway
Ada Hegerberg was born in Molde, Norway. She grew up in Sunndalsøra and played football for Sunndal Fotball with her older sister, Andrine. In 2007, their family moved to Kolbotn, where both sisters joined Kolbotn IL.
Playing for Kolbotn
Ada started playing for Kolbotn's main team in 2010. In 2011, when she was just 16, she scored three goals in seven minutes against Røa. This made her the youngest player ever to score a hat-trick in the Toppserien, which is Norway's top women's football league. She finished that season as Kolbotn's top scorer and was named the league's Young Player of the Year.
Time at Stabæk
Before the 2012 season, Ada and her sister joined Stabæk. In May 2012, Ada scored five goals in the first half of a game, helping Stabæk win 8–2. She was recognized as one of Norway's top young talents. Ada became the top scorer in the 2012 Toppserien season with 25 goals in 18 matches. She also scored a hat-trick in the final of the 2012 Norwegian Women's Cup, helping Stabæk win the trophy.
Moving to Germany
In 2013, Ada and her sister signed with 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam, a German club. Ada scored in her very first game in the Bundesliga. In their first season in Germany, the Hegerberg sisters and Turbine Potsdam finished second in both the league and the German Cup.
Success with Lyon
In the summer of 2014, Ada moved to Lyon in France. Her first season there was very successful. She scored 26 goals in 22 league games, helping Lyon win their ninth straight Division 1 Féminine title. She also scored a key goal in the Coupe de France Féminine Final, which Lyon won 2–1.
2015–16 Season
Ada continued her amazing performance in the 2015–16 season. In September, she scored a hat-trick against rival team PSG. She was the first player to do this against PSG since 2008. Ada signed a new contract to stay with Lyon until 2019. Lyon won the league title for the tenth time in a row. Ada was the top scorer with 33 goals in 21 games. Lyon also won the Coupe de France Féminine. In the UEFA Women's Champions League, Lyon won the competition, with Ada scoring 13 goals in 9 matches. This meant Lyon won a "treble" – three major trophies in one season!
Winning the Ballon d'Or
On December 3, 2018, Ada Hegerberg became the first woman ever to win the Ballon d'Or Féminin. This is a huge award for the best football player in the world. When she received the award, the host made a comment that was seen as inappropriate. He later apologized. Ada said she didn't see it as harassment and was just happy to win. She also shared an inspiring message for young girls: "Believe in yourselves." She believes having a Ballon d'Or for women is a big step forward for the sport.
2018–19 Season
In the 2018–19 season, Lyon had a close race with Paris Saint-Germain. Ada scored a goal and made an assist in a 5–0 win against PSG, helping Lyon secure the league title. She also scored the only goal in the French Cup semi-final and helped Lyon win the final.
On May 18, 2019, Ada was named Player of the Match in the 2019 UEFA Women's Champions League Final. She scored three goals in just 16 minutes, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in a UWCL final. Lyon beat Barcelona 4–1, winning their fourth UWCL trophy in a row. By the end of this season, Ada had won 13 out of 15 possible trophies with Lyon.
Injury and Comeback
On October 30, 2019, Ada became the all-time top scorer in the UEFA Women's Champions League with her 53rd goal in her 50th game.
However, in January 2020, Ada suffered a serious injury to her knee (anterior cruciate ligament). This meant she would miss the rest of the season. The season was later stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She signed a new contract with Lyon in December 2020, keeping her at the club until June 2024. After 21 months away from the game, Ada made her comeback for Lyon on October 5, 2021. She played the last 12 minutes in a Champions League match. On November 14, 2021, she scored her first goals after her injury, scoring twice against Paris Saint-Germain.
In April 2022, Ada helped her team reach the Champions League final. She assisted a goal in a 3–2 win at home and scored the opening goal in a 2–1 away win against Paris Saint-Germain. In the final, she scored a goal and assisted another in a 3–1 victory over Barcelona, winning her sixth Champions League title.
On April 17, 2024, Ada extended her contract with Lyon until the summer of 2027.
International Career
Youth Teams
When she was 15, Ada played for Norway's under-19 team in the 2011 UEFA Women's U-19 Championship. Norway reached the final of that tournament. Ada was also part of the Norwegian team that reached the quarter-finals at the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She and her sister Andrine scored goals in a 2–1 win against Canada during that tournament.
Senior National Team
Ada made her first appearance for the senior Norway team in November 2011.
She played in her first major championship for Norway at the 2013 UEFA European Championship. She scored her first goal in the tournament when Norway beat Spain 3–1 in the quarter-final. Norway then lost 1–0 to Germany in the final.
Ada was part of the Norway team at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. She scored three goals in three group games, including two goals in Norway's 3–1 win over Ivory Coast. She was nominated for the Best Young Player Award for her performance.
In January 2016, Ada won the 2015 Norwegian Gold Ball award, given to the best footballer in Norway. A woman had not won this award for 20 years before her.
Taking a Break
In the summer of 2017, Ada decided to stop playing for the national team. This was a way to protest how the NFF treated women's football. Even though there were some improvements, Ada felt there was "still a long way to go." She described her time with the national team as "deeply depressing" and causing her "nightmares." Because of this, she missed the 2019 World Cup.
Returning to Play
In March 2022, Ada ended her five-year break from the national team. In her first game back on April 7, she scored three goals in a 5–1 win against Kosovo. A big reason for her return was talking with the new NFF president, Lise Klaveness, about the future of women's football.
On June 19, 2023, Ada was chosen for Norway's squad for the 2023 World Cup. In a match against Switzerland, she got injured during warm-ups and couldn't play. She returned two games later as a substitute against Japan, but Norway lost 3–1.
On July 16, 2025, Ada was part of the Norway squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2025.
Personal Life
In June 2019, Ada Hegerberg married Thomas Rogne, who is also a footballer.
Views on Football and COVID-19
In May 2020, Ada spoke in an interview about how the COVID-19 pandemic affected women's football. She said that women's football might suffer more because it is still growing and needs support. She stressed the importance of speaking up to keep women's football in the spotlight.
Sponsors and Media
Ada Hegerberg is a very popular athlete. After winning the Ballon d'Or in 2018, she became an ambassador for watchmaker Hublot and financial company Mastercard. In 2019, she became a global ambassador for the Danone Nations Cup, a big international football tournament for kids under 12.
In 2020, after working with Puma for six years, Ada announced a new partnership with Nike. Nike has featured her in many campaigns, showing their support for her work as an activist for gender equality and sustainability.
Ada has had a big impact in the media. She is often seen as a main spokesperson for women's football, giving many interviews to promote the sport. In November 2020, a documentary about her called My Name is Ada Hegerberg was released on ESPN+. She has also been named one of the most powerful women in sports by various media outlets.
Honours and Awards
Stabæk
- Norwegian Women's Cup: 2012
Lyon
- Première Ligue: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
- Coupe de France Féminine: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2022–23
- Trophée des Championnes: 2019, 2022, 2023
- UEFA Women's Champions League: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22
Norway
- UEFA Women's Euro: runner-up 2013
Individual Awards
- UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe: 2016
- Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year: 2016
- BBC Women's Footballer of the Year: 2017, 2019
- Ballon d'Or Féminin: 2018
- Gullballen: 2015, 2016, 2018
- UEFA Women's Champions League Best Goalscorer: 2016, 2018
- Division 1 Féminine Best Goalscorer: 2016, 2017, 2018
- Division 1 Féminine Best Player: 2016
- 2019 UEFA Women's Champions League Final Player of the Match
Records
- Most goals in the UEFA Women's Champions League: 59
- Most goals in a UEFA Women's Champions League season: 15
- First player to score a hat-trick in a UEFA Women's Champions League final (single match)
- First player to score in 4 different UEFA Women's Champions League finals
See also
In Spanish: Ada Hegerberg para niños
