Lene Terp

Lene Terp
Personal information
Full name Lene Bjerning Terp
Date of birth (1973-04-15) 15 April 1973 (age 53)
Place of birth Hellevad, Denmark
Position Defender
Youth career
Hellevad IF
Bolderslev B1950
1988–1991 Kolding B
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995 Lynn Fighting Knights
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1996 Vejle B 108
1997–2001 OB
2001–2002 Fulham
2002–2003 OB
International career
1993–2003 Denmark 105 (4)
Managerial career
2005–2008 SønderjyskE
2013–2016 Kolding IF
2016–2017 Denmark (assistant)
2021–2023 Faroe Islands
2023–2026 Fortuna Hjørring
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Lene Bjerning Terp (born 15 April 1973) is a Danish professional football manager and former player. She was most recently the manager of Fortuna Hjørring, and has previously coached A-Liga club Kolding IF (then-KoldingQ) and the Faroe Islands national team. Terp played as a defender, captaining the Danish national team from 1998 until her player retirement in 2003. She represented Danish A-Liga clubs Kolding B, Vejle BK, and OB, and turned professional in 2001 with then-2nd tier English club Fulham. In November 2025, Terp was inducted into the Danish Football Hall of Fame.

Terp has reached a lot of historic milestones in Danish women's football. She was the first female player to reach 100 matches for the Danish national team, and the first Danish woman to obtain the UEFA Pro Licence required to coach at the highest level. She is one of the first players to play professionally, and the only woman to have been nominated by her colleagues for the title of Best Danish Football Coach, where she placed 5th, the only woman to have ever been considered.

Youth career

Terp began her playing career at 15 years old with Kolding B in 1988, where she played until 1991 ending her time with the club at 18 years old.

Club career

Terp started her senior career in 1993 with A-Liga club Vejle BK, during which she also spent a year with Lynn University in 1995. In 1997 she moved on to OB where she played for four years. In 2001 Terp got her first full-time professional contract with the then-English football 2nd tier club Fulham, with which Terp won promotion to the then-top tier as well as the 2002 FA Cup. She was with Fulham for one season, before returning to OB for another year, retiring from her active playing career in 2003.

International career

Terp won 105 caps for Denmark. She was named in the FIFA All-Star team for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Managerial career

Terp worked as an assistant coach with the Michigan Wolverines in 2009. She gained her UEFA Pro Licence in 2013, the first woman in Denmark to do so and is one of only five women in Denmark to obtain one. On 1 July 2023, Terp became the head coach for Danish A-Liga club Fortuna Hjørring. Terp led them to win the league in the 2024–25 season, the first win in five years and their 12th title, which saw Fortuna draw level with rivals Brøndby for most titles in the top flight. Fortuna also won the 2025 Danish Cup securing them "the Double". For her accomplishments in the 2024–25 season, Terp was voted the fifth best manager in the country by fellow managers, the highest placed female coach in the ranking and the first woman ever to place in the ranking.

Honours

Player

Fulham

Managerial

Fortuna Hjørring

Individual

Notes

  1. ↑ Terp agreed to be caretaker assistant for Katrine Pedersen who was on maternity leave.

References

  1. ↑ Josevski, Aleksandar (10 May 2016). "Tidligere stjernespiller tilbage på landsholdet". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  2. ↑ "Signe skal stå i spidsen for Færøernes kvinder: 'Det er nok ikke sejrene, der kommer flest af'". DR (in Danish). 20 March 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  3. ↑ "Women's national football team gets new manager". Kringvarp Føroya (in Faroese). Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  4. ↑ Anders (29 October 2025). "Lene Terp indlemmes i Fodboldens Hall of Fame: En pioner i dansk kvindefodbold hædres". Divisionsbold (in Danish). Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Lene Terp ny 3F Liga-træner i KoldingQ | Fodbold for piger". www.fodboldforpiger.dk. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Women's FA Cup final: The changing face of the game over 50 years". 4 December 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  7. 1 2 Association, The Football. "FA Women's Premier League Southern Division 2001-02". www.thefa.com. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  8. 1 2 Mitchell, Brendon (7 May 2021). "Now you see her". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "Fodbold: Kvindelandsholdets anfører stopper karrieren". Jyllands-Posten (in Danish). 24 June 2003. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "Lene Terp stopper karrieren | jv.dk". jv.dk (in Danish). 24 June 2003. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "Lene Terp ny talentchef i DBU". DBU (in Danish). 26 June 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 Bryld, Thea Amanda Rømer (4 May 2025). "En af Danmarks bedste trænere kan i dag slukke den nordjyske guldtørst". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  13. ↑ "Så lykkedes det endelig: Fortuna Hjørring er dansk mester igen". DR (in Danish). 10 May 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  14. ↑ "Fortuna fuldender festuge: Pokalfinalesejr sender 'The Double' til Hjørring". DR (in Danish). 17 May 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "Fortuna Hjørring vandt pokalfinalen og tog The Double". Bold (in Danish). 17 May 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 Hørstrup, Johan Gørtz (24 December 2025). "Kun fire trænere er bedre end Lene Terp. Men skal hun træne herrerne, skal klubberne være klar først". www.nordjyske.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  17. ↑ Skipper, Niels (27 March 2025). "Fortuna har landets femte bedste træner". NordsøPosten.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Fodboldspiller fra sønderjysk landsby er endt i Hall of Fame | jv.dk". jv.dk (in Danish). 4 November 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2026.