Sofie Junge-Pedersen

Sofie wanted to become a professional footballer and play for Denmark from the moment she started playing, even writing that ambition in childhood friendship books.

She made her senior-team debut at just 15 for Skovbakken, under the coach who later became Denmark's national-team manager, Jakob Michelsen.

Climate change has been an important part of her life since the COP15 climate conference was held in Copenhagen in 2009. She has calculated the carbon emissions from her flights for years and tries to compensate for the environmental impact of unavoidable travel.

Her diet is largely plant-based, and she has spoken about trying to avoid eating meat.

She tries to buy recycled clothing and invest in companies working on sustainability.

Her activism extends beyond environmental issues to projects involving gender equality, refugee integration, youth empowerment and community development.

She has spent time in Zambia and Ghana and has seen firsthand how football can create community, learning and moments of joy. A project she supported in Ghana combined football with discussions about sexual and reproductive health and rights for girls.

A serious concussion in 2016 temporarily stopped her football career and left her spending up to 20 hours a day lying down with her eyes closed at her parents' home.

In 2024, she was named The Guardian’s Footballer of the Year largely in recognition of her environmental and humanitarian activism alongside her football career.