Thea Bjelde (born 5 June 2000) is a Norwegian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a winger or right-back for

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...

and the Norway national team.

Club career

Early career

Bjelde started her career in

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages i ...

, where she distinguished herself as the only girl on the under-14 team in the

Norway Cup The Norway Cup is an international youth football tournament in Oslo, Norway. It has been held annually since 1972, with the exception of 1976 (due to a conflicting arrangement), 2020 and 2021 (due to the COVID-19 Pandemic). It is the world's l ...

. In early 2016, she joined Kaupanger in the 2nd division.

Arna-Bjørnar (2016–2021)

As a 16-year-old, she was brought to

Arna-Bjørnar Arna-Bjørnar Fotball is a Norwegian football club from Arna, Bergen. It was founded in late 2000 as a merger between the football branches from ''IL Bjørnar'' and ''Arna T&IL'', and replaced Bjørnar IL in the league system from 2001. The w ...

in the

Toppserien The Toppserien is the top level of women's association football in Norway. It was founded in 1984. History Women's league football was introduced on a county basis in 1977. These leagues acted as qualification for the regional (South) league in 1 ...

. In 2018, the breakthrough came when Bjelde had a fantastic season, and was an important piece in the team that won bronze in the Toppserien. She was voted player of the year in Arna-Bjørnar, and nominated for breakthrough of the year in 2022 in the Toppserien. In early 2019, she suffered a cruciate ligament injury that put her out of football for a year. After returning from the injury, she bounced back strongly the following year, and was rewarded by being selected for the senior national team for the first time. She was also named player of the year in Arna-Bjørnar in 2020. As a 21-year-old, she was appointed captain in Arna-Bjørnar.

Vålerenga (2021–)

On 18 July 2021, she signed for Vålerenga. With Vålerenga, she helped win the cup championship in her first season, and she was voted best on the pitch in the cup final against Sandviken. In the summer of 2023, she extended her contract with Vålerenga. She was an important part of the team that took series gold for Vålerenga. Bjelde was selected for the "team of the year" and nominated for "player of the year" in 2023 Toppserien.

International career

Bjelde has international matches for U15, U16, U17, U19, U23, and the senior national team for Norway. She was selected for the senior Norwegian national team for the first time in October 2020. After a decline in the Norwegian squad, Bjelde was called up to the team that was going to the European Championship in England 2022. Bjelde made her debut for the senior national team on 7 October 2022, in a private international match against Brazil at

Ullevaal Stadium Ullevaal Stadion () is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the home ground of the Norway national football team, and the site of the Norwegian Cup Final. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the home ground of ...

. On 19 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player Norwegian squad for the

FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is scheduled to be the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by the women's national association football teams organised ...

. She played in all games.

International goals

References

External links

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Thea Bjelde
at Soccerdonna * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bjelde, Thea 2000 births Living people People from Sogndal Norwegian women's footballers Women's association football midfielders Women's association football defenders Norway women's youth international footballers Norway women's international footballers Arna-Bjørnar players Vålerenga Fotball Damer players Toppserien players 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players