Per Haftorsen

Per Haftorsen was born on 6 September 1947 in Haugesund, in Rogaland on the west coast of Norway. He came through at his hometown club, SK Haugar, and played for its first team from the second half of the 1960s. Haugar were then in the second tier of Norwegian football, yet his performances there made him one of the best regarded goalkeepers in the country.

Haftorsen was first selected for Norway while still a Haugar player, and he made his international debut on 27 August 1969 in a friendly against Poland, replacing Kjell Kaspersen during the match. He went on to play eleven full internationals for Norway between 1969 and 1972, according to the figures reported by VG and NTB; some statistical databases list twelve.

In 1971 he joined Fredrikstad FK in the top division and stayed four seasons. Fredrikstad reached the 1971 Norwegian Cup final, which they lost, and in 1972 finished second in the league, level with champions Viking but behind them on goal difference. In the final round that year, away to neighbours Sarpsborg, he produced a series of saves that VG's Gunnar Kroge described as a row of outstanding tiger leaps, including a penalty save from Jan Aas, and the result relegated Sarpsborg. VG awarded him 10 in its player ratings, a mark very few players have ever received, and he was named player of the year in Norwegian football for 1972.

His final international was Norway's 9-0 World Cup qualifying defeat by the Netherlands, led by Johan Cruyff, in 1972. Despite the scoreline he was named the best player on the pitch. He was not selected again.

After the 1974 season he returned to Haugar, where he played until he retired in the spring of 1979.

Haftorsen was married and had three children and six grandchildren. His son Per Andreas Haftorsen also became a goalkeeper, playing for SK Brann, FK Haugesund and the Norway under-21 team in the 1990s. His daughter Synnøve played youth internationals for Norway, and his grandchild Libe Haftorsen Brakstad has also played for Norway as a defender. Speaking to Haugesunds Avis after his death, Per Andreas said that his father had been a great inspiration to all of them.

Per Haftorsen died peacefully during the night to Saturday 17 October 2026 at Haugesund Hospital, surrounded by his family. He was 79. His death was first reported by Haugesunds Avis, and was carried on 18 October by VG, NTB, Aftenposten, Nettavisen and Faedrelandsvennen. No cause of death was made public. He was survived by his wife, three children and six grandchildren. Funeral arrangements had not been announced in the first reports.

Haftorsen is counted among the finest footballers Haugesund has produced. Among the town's national team players, only Christian Grindheim has more caps than his eleven. He was one of the first players to receive a 10 on VG's player ratings, a distinction still remembered decades later, and his 1972 season with Fredrikstad, which brought a league silver medal and the player of the year award, remains one of the outstanding goalkeeping seasons in Norwegian football. His family's continuing involvement in the game, through his son, daughter and grandchild, carried his name into later generations of Norwegian football.