Kent-Are Antonsen
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 February 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | Storsteinnes, Norway | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Strømsgodset | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2010 | Storsteinnes | ||
| 2011–2012 | Tromsø | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2011 | Storsteinnes | ||
| 2011 | → Nordkjosbotn (loan) | ||
| 2013–2026 | Tromsø | 307 | (28) |
| 2025 | → IFK Värnamo (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2026– | Strømsgodset | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010 | Norway U15 | 4 | (0) |
| 2011 | Norway U16 | 10 | (0) |
| 2012 | Norway U17 | 9 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Norway U18 | 12 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 March 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 2 February 2024 | |||
Kent-Are Antonsen (born 12 February 1995) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Norwegian First Division club Strømsgodset.
Club career
Early career
Antonsen was born in Storsteinnes. He began his career with Storsteinnes IL, the club from his hometown, where he made his debut in the Norwegian Fifth Division.[1][2] In 2011, he joined Nordkjosbotn on loan, competing in the Norwegian Third Division.[3][2]
Tromsø
In the summer of 2011, Antonsen signed with Tromsø and was initially assigned to the club's youth team.[2] He made his Eliteserien debut on 29 June 2013, coming on as a substitute for Lars Gunnar Johnsen in a 3–1 away defeat to Strømsgodset. His first start came on 25 August in a 1–0 loss against Haugesund, where he received praise from teammates Miika Koppinen and Jarosław Fojut for his performance.[2][4] On 19 September, he made his UEFA Europa League debut, replacing Koppinen in a 3–0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.[5][6] At the end of the season, Tromsø was relegated to the Norwegian First Division. On 3 December 2013, Antonsen signed a new contract with the club, extending his stay for three more seasons.[7]
On 26 October 2014, Tromsø secured promotion back to the Eliteserien with a 1–0 home victory over Fredrikstad, ensuring a second-place finish with one match remaining.[8] Antonsen scored his first Eliteserien goal—and his first goal for Tromsø—on 5 June 2015 in a 2–0 home win against Molde.[9] Later that year, after helping the club secure its top-flight status, he signed a contract extension on 10 December, committing to Tromsø until the end of 2018.[10]
His steady presence in the squad earned him another contract extension on 20 March 2018, securing his stay until December 2020.[11] Two years later, on 24 January 2020, he extended his contract once more, committing to the club for an additional four years.[12]
Continuing his long association with Tromsø, Antonsen signed a new three-year contract with the club on 4 January 2024.[13][14]
On 23 July 2025 Antonsen was loaned out to IFK Värnamo until the end of the year, with an option to sign permanently after the season.[15]
Strømsgodset
After Antonsen returned from his loan at IFK Värnamo, his contract with Tromsø was terminated so that Antonsen could find himself a new permanent club.[16] Then, on 9 March 2026, Strømsgodset announced that they had signed him on a two-year contract.[17]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tromsø | 2013 | Eliteserien | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 2014 | 1. divisjon | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| 2015 | Eliteserien | 28 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 30 | 3 | ||
| 2016 | Eliteserien | 24 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 27 | 2 | ||
| 2017 | Eliteserien | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 1 | ||
| 2018 | Eliteserien | 29 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | 32 | 5 | ||
| 2019 | Eliteserien | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | 1. divisjon | 27 | 11 | — | — | 27 | 11 | |||
| 2021 | Eliteserien | 16 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | 18 | 3 | ||
| 2022 | Eliteserien | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | ||
| 2023 | Eliteserien | 29 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 33 | 2 | ||
| 2024 | Eliteserien | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 37 | 1 | |
| 2025 | Eliteserien | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | ||
| Total | 307 | 28 | 25 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 340 | 32 | ||
| IFK Värnamo (loan) | 2025 | Allsvenskan | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |
| Strømsgodset | 2026 | 1. divisjon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Career total | 317 | 28 | 25 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 350 | 32 | ||
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Conference League
Honours
Individual
- Eliteserien Goal of the Month: May 2025[19]
References
- ^ "Kent-Are Antonsen: Statistikk". Norges Fotballforbund (in Norwegian). Retrieved 9 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d Madsen, Christer (31 October 2013). "Fra 2.divisjon til White Hart Lane". Norges Fotballforbund (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 11 November 2013.
- ^ a b Kent-Are Antonsen at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
- ^ "Haugesund 1–0 Tromsø – 21. runde – 25.08.2013". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 24 September 2013.
- ^ Chase, Graham (18 September 2013). "Tottenham 3–0 Tromso". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ "History: Tottenham 3–0 Tromsø | UEFA Europa League 2013/14". UEFA. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ "Signerte avtale for tre år". Tromsø IL (in Norwegian). 3 December 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013.
- ^ Skjellum, Hanne; Johannessen, Bjørn Arne (26 October 2014). "Tromsø tilbake i Tippeligaen". VG (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ Holdal, Elise (5 June 2015). "TIL med første seier på hjemmebane over Molde". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ "Ny kontrakt for Antonsen". Tromsø IL (in Norwegian). 10 December 2015. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015.
- ^ "- Viktig signering for TIL". Tromsø IL (in Norwegian). 20 March 2018. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018.
- ^ Robertsen, Rune (24 January 2020). "Kent-Are (24) har signert ny kontrakt med «Gutan»: Blir TIL-spiller i minst fire år til". Bergens Tidende (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ "- De siste dagene trigget meg". Tromsø IL (in Norwegian Bokmål). 4 January 2024. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ "Kent-Are Antonsen har signert ny kontrakt med TIL". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). 4 January 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ "Välkommen till IFK Värnamo, Kent-Are Antonsen!" [Welcome to IFK Värnamo, Kent-Are Antonsen] (in Swedish). IFK Värnamo. 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
- ^ Grindstein, Gunnar (19 January 2026). "Nå er legenden ferdig i TIL" (in Norwegian). NRK. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ^ "Antonsen klar for Strømsgodset" (in Norwegian). 9 March 2026. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
- ^ Kent-Are Antonsen at Soccerway
- ^ "Dette drømmetreffet fra Tromsø ILs Kent-Are Antonsen har blitt stemt frem til månedens mål for mai". Facebook (in Norwegian). Eliteserien. 17 June 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.