Haitam Aleesami

Haitam Glimt Aleesami (Arabic: هيثم العصامي; born 31 July 1991) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Bodø/Glimt.

Haitam Aleesami

Aleesami with FC Rostov in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Haitam Glimt Aleesami[1]
Date of birth	(1991-07-31) 31 July 1991 (age 34)
Place of birth	Oslo, Norway
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s)	Left-back
Team information
Current team	Bodø/Glimt
Number	5
Youth career
0000–2007	Nordstrand
2008	Holmlia
2009–2010	Skeid
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2012	Skeid
2012–2014	Fredrikstad	68	(5)
2015–2016	IFK Göteborg	45	(2)
2016–2019	Palermo	90	(1)
2019–2020	Amiens	22	(1)
2020–2021	Rostov	13	(0)
2021–2023	Apollon Limassol	36	(0)
2024–2025	KFUM Oslo	25	(1)
2025–	Bodø/Glimt	16	(2)
International career‡
2015–2020	Norway	31	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:14, 3 August 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 11 October 2020

Club career

Glimt Aleesami was born in Oslo and started playing football for Nordstrand, Holmlia and later Skeid.^[3] He joined Skeid's first-team squad in 2010, playing in the Second Division, and was named "Skeid's best young player of the year" in 2011.^[4]

In August 2012, he joined Fredrikstad FK to replace Benjamin Dahl Hagen who had returned to Vålerenga after a loan-spell.^[5] Aleesami made his debut in Tippeligaen and assisted Tarik Elyounoussi's goal when Fredrikstad won 2–0 in the match against Tromsø on 5 August 2012.^[6][7]

On 18 August 2014, he signed a four-year contract with Swedish club IFK Göteborg. He joined the club in the pre-season before the 2015 season.^[8]

On 8 August 2016, he signed with Palermo.^[9]

On 17 October 2020, he joined Russian Premier League club FC Rostov.^[10] He left Rostov on 19 May 2021.^[11]

On 16 August 2021, he signed a two-year contract with Apollon Limassol in Cyprus.^[12]

After half a season without a club, Aleesami signed with newly promoted Eliteserien side KFUM Oslo in December 2023.^[13]

On 15 March 2025, Aleesami signed a two-year contract with Bodø/Glimt.^[14]

Personal life

Haitam's younger brother Ayoub Aleesami also plays football. While Ayoub and Haitam have similar appearances, the latter is vastly more known due to him playing internationally, thus Ayoub is often confused for Haitam in the street.^[15] Born in Norway, Aleesami is of Moroccan descent.^[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 3 August 2025^[1][3]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Skeid	2012	Norwegian Second Division	13	2	2	0	—		—		—		15	2
Fredrikstad	2012	Tippeligaen	13	0	—		—		—		—		13	0
	2013	Norwegian First Division	30	4	1	0	—		—		—		31	4
	2014		25	1	2	0	—		—		1[c]	0	28	1
	Total		68	5	3	0	—		—		1	0	72	5
IFK Göteborg	2015	Allsvenskan	30	2	5	0	—		4[d]	1	1[e]	0	40	3
	2016		15	0	3	0	—		5[d]	0	—		23	0
	Total		45	2	8	0	—		9	1	1	0	63	3
Palermo	2016–17	Serie A	31	1	2	0	—		—		—		33	1
	2017–18	Serie B	30	0	2	1	—		—		—		32	1
	2018–19		29	0	0	0	—		—		—		29	0
	Total		90	1	4	1	—		—		—		94	2
Amiens	2019–20	Ligue 1	22	1	1	0	2	0	—		—		25	1
Rostov	2020–21	Russian Premier League	13	0	1	0	—		0	0	—		14	0
Apollon Limassol	2021–22	Cypriot First Division	20	0	1	1	—		—		—		21	1
	2022–23		16	0	1	0	—		4[f]	0	0	0	21	0
	Total		36	0	2	1	—		4	0	0	0	38	1
KFUM Oslo	2024	Eliteserien	25	1	3	1	—		—		—		28	2
Bodø/Glimt	2025	Eliteserien	16	2	3	0	—		0	0	—		19	2
Career total			328	14	27	3	2	0	13	1	2	0	372	18

1. Includes Norwegian Cup, Svenska Cupen, Coppa Italia, Coupe de France, Russian Cup, Cypriot Cup
2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue
3. Appearance in Norwegian First Division promotional play-offs
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearance in Svenska Supercupen
6. Appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

As of 11 October 2020^[17]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Norway	2015	3	0
	2016	9	0
	2017	4	0
	2018	3	0
	2019	9	0
	2020	3	0
Total		31	0

Honours

IFK Göteborg

• Svenska Cupen: 2014–15