Footballer John Petersen

A prolific striker, Petersen has won Faroese league winner medals with GÍ Gøta and B36 Tórshavn. He then moved to play with compatriots Jens Martin Knudsen, Sámal Joensen and Jens Erik Rasmussen at Leiftur in the Icelandic league only to return to the Faroe Islands after a disappointing season in which the team relegated. Petersen was Faroese league top goalscorer in the 1994 season. He also had a short spell with Danish sides Holstebro BK and Skive IK. John Petersen is the second most scoring footballer in the Faroese league, with 147 goals.

Petersen made his debut for the Faroe Islands in an October 1995 European Championship qualifying match against San Marino, coming on as a substitute for Todi Jónsson. On 7 September 2002, Petersen scored 2 goals within the first 8 minutes in a European Championship qualifying match, to give the Faroe Islands a 2–0 lead against Scotland. Given the chance to extend Faroe Islands lead to 3-0 after half time, alone with the goalie, Petersens attempt went above the post, as the ball hit a trench before impact. The final score ended 2-2. In total, he collected 57 caps, scoring six goals.

Scores and results list Faroe Islands' goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	24 April 1996	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia	Yugoslavia	1–3	1–3	1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
2.	14 October 1998	Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen, Scotland	Scotland	1–2	1–2	2000 Euro qualifying
3.	7 October 2000	Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland	Switzerland	1–0	1–5	2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying
4.	7 September 2002	Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroe Islands	Scotland	1–0	2–2	2004 Euro qualifying
5.				2–0
6.	27 April 2003	Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroe Islands	Kazakhstan	2–0	3–2	Friendly

Petersen was head coach of B36 Tórshavn in 2011. He was coach of Skála ÍF for one and a half years in 2007 and 2008. He was assisting coach for AB Argir in 2009 and assisting coach for Viborg FF in 2007. Petersen was assisting coach for Faroe Islands national football team in the period 2006 to 2008. He was the head coach of the Faroe Islands U19 women's national team. and since January 2019 he has been the head coach for the Faroe Islands women's national football team.

Petersen has played on the national handball team of the Faroe Islands. He played for the clubs StÍF and Neistin.