Last updated: 5 December 2023
4 min read

In Partnership with Rebel Girls

Ada Hegerberg

Ada was on a path to becoming one of the world's best before a terrible injury sent her to the sidelines. Discover how she still made it to the top, becoming recognised as the best on the planet in 2018.

Football Stories: Ada Hegerberg

Ada Hegerberg. Striker, Norwegian. Born: 10 July, 1995.

Ada was at the top of her game when her career screeched to a halt. Ada had started her professional football career at 15 years old. She became a top scorer, and each time she scored, she threw her arms out and ran to her teammates like she was flying, a huge smile on her face. As the years went by, Ada’s career rose like a rocket.

Then one day, during training, something popped in Ada’s leg. Suddenly, she couldn’t walk, and the pain was unbearable. When she was finally able to train again, she found out she had a stress fracture in her leg too! Ada didn’t play football for almost two years. Her body needed time to heal, but Ada struggled to be patient. "Will I ever get to play again?" she thought.

Eventually, Ada's legs were strong enough to run, and as she trained, she felt like a kid falling in love with football for the first time. Ada believes that her renewed passion for her sport just might help her break even more records as her biggest ambition is to maximise her potential. She can’t wait to take the pitch at her fourth world championships.

Dear Rebels,

Don’t stop what you’re doing.

Keep running, keep training, keep believing.

Get that confidence in you, keep it, never let it go. It takes one person for you to have hope, and most of the time that person is you.

Be good to others; be kind to people below you. Don’t be afraid to challenge the people above you. Don’t let the stigmas get into your head.Go out and reach for the stars.

But most importantly, keep having fun while doing all of it.

Love,

Ada

— Ada Hegerberg

Back to nike.com/play

Football Stories: Ada Hegerberg

Illustrations by Juliette Toma

Originally published: 28 September 2023

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