Renate Blindheim

Renate Køppen Blindheim (born 17 March 1994) is a Norwegian football manager and former footballer who is currently manager of Norwegian 2. divisjon club Sotra. In June 2020, Blindheim gained attention for being the first female manager to manage a professional Norwegian men's football team.

Renate Blindheim

Personal information
Full name	Renate Køppen Blindheim[1]
Date of birth	(1994-03-17) 17 March 1994 (age 31)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Sotra (manager)
Youth career
	Sandviken
International career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009	Norway U15	2	(0)
2010	Norway U16	1	(0)
Managerial career
2020–	Sotra

Early life

Blindheim grew up in Bergen and aspired to be a professional footballer from a young age. She represented Norway 3 times at youth level, featuring alongside future Norway senior international players such as Guro Reiten and Caroline Graham Hansen.^[2][3] Blindheim struggled with injuries and, at the age of 17, retired from football after a serious foot injury. After this, she decided to focus on coaching her younger sister. Her father was a football manager at the time.^[4]

Managerial career

Blindheim first worked as a youth coach for Gneist and then later for Olsvik. After her spell at Olsvik, she worked as a player development coach at Åsane.^[4] It was during this time that she decided to aspire to be a manager in the Eliteserien, the top tier of Norwegian men's football.^[2]

On 19 June 2020, it was announced that Blindheim would be the manager of 2. divisjon club Sotra, meaning that she would be the first female manager to take charge of a professional Norwegian men's football team.^[5] The news of her appointment led to significant international media coverage of both her and the club.^[6][7] After six league games, Sotra were undefeated and at the top of the league table with five victories.^[8] Following that spell, however, the team's form worsened and they had one draw and seven losses, meaning that they were seventh in the league.^[9]