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Thor Einar Andersen

MD PhD

thorea@nih.no

CV

Thor Einar Andersen (b. 1960) holds a 60% professorial appointment at the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Department of Sports Medicine.He serves as the director of football medicine projects.

Andersen served as chief of the Sports Medicine Department at Aspetar Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Hospital in Qatar from November 2019 to March 2021.

He completed his medical doctorate in March 2005 at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo. Andersen functions as medical director, senior consultant physician, and specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Norwegian Football Association’s Sports Medical Centre (IHS-NFF). Since 2002 he has also served as the chief medical officer for the Football Association of Norway. From 2020 to 2024, he was a member of the FIFA Medical Scientific Advisory Board.

Since the 2000 season, Andersen has established an electronic system for continuous injury registration in the men's Premier League (Eliteserien). Andersen currently participates in the #ReadyToPlay project, which involves injury, illness, and load monitoring of all players/teams in the women's Premier League (Toppserien). The objective is to examine injury patterns in Norwegian elite women's football with particular focus on hamstring and groin injuries, as well as the significance of training and match load for injuries, illness, and performance.

He has led a recently completed project examining the relationship between injuries/health complaints and load management in Norwegian junior elite football for both girls and boys. He has also directed a recently completed project that evaluated statistical methods and analyses used in studies on the relationship between training load and injuries.

In autumn 2022, he initiated a project examining the brain health of former female national team players, constituting a prospective study. In collaboration with the Norwegian FA’s Sports Medical Centre, he is responsible for several clinical projects related to hip and groin injuries and head injuries in young athletes.

Furthermore, Andersen maintains several international collaborative projects, including partnerships with Oxford University, England; Amsterdam UMC, University Medical Centres, The Netherlands; Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland; Aspetar Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Hospital in Qatar; University of Copenhagen, Denmark; University of Bath, England; FIFPro - International Professional Football Players' Association; FIFA Medical; UEFA Medical; Arsenal FC; and FC Barcelona.

He served as team physician for the Norwegian men's national team from 2002 to 2014. He is a former professional footballer who played for IK Start and won two Premier League titles with the club in 1978 and 1980. Andersen earned multiple caps for Norway at youth international level, representing the U-15 through U-23 teams.

He has worked as a youth football coach and served on the board of Nordstrand IF for more than 20 years. He currently holds a position on the executive board of IK Start professional football club.

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