Cypriot basketball legend becomes first female head coach on a men's team in Europe / News - Basketnews.com

Kalia Papadopoulou made history as the first female coach to have taken over a men's basketball team in Europe.

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Over the past years, we've seen a lot of female coaches take over men's basketball teams.

Starting from Nancy Lieberman, who became the first woman to coach a professional men's team when she was appointed head coach of the Texas Legends in the NBA Developmental League in 2009, women seem to occupy more and more space on the bench of men's teams.

Last year, Liz Mills was hired by AS Sale, which competes in Morocco's top division, becoming the first woman head coach in the Basketball Africa League.

And now, Cyprus turns into the epicenter of a similar development.

Last summer, the top Cypriot basketball player of all time, Kalia Papadopoulou, returned to AE Limassol (AEL) taking over the position of team manager of the men's team.

With a total service of almost fifteen years in the club's ranks and a remarkable international and domestic career, Papadopoulou, 43, also joined the team's coaching staff as an assistant to head coach Markos Asonitis.

However, after the mutually agreed termination of Asonitis' contract, the Cypriot club decided to proceed with the appointment of Kalia Papadopoulou as an interim coach until the end of the current season. That makes the former player the first woman coach in the Old Continent to sit on a men's team bench.

Papadopoulou served as the coach of the Women's national team from 2016 through 2019, and is a longtime ambassador of "Fair Play" for sports in Cyprus, as she contributes a lot with her actions to the development of Cypriot basketball.

Credit AEL

While AEL women's team is the most successful basketball team in Cyprus, having won the most championships (16) and cups (15), including this season's, the men's team won their last title in 2007. Still, they lead the pack with 13 domestic trophies.

Keravnos Strovolou are first (18-1), followed by Petrolina AEK (15-4), APOEL (14-5), Apollon Limassol (12-7), while AEL are in 5th place with a balanced 10-10 record.

However, facing reigning champs Keravnos Strovolou, Papadopoulou and her team didn't manage to stop their opponents' game-winning streak. The team coached by former Greek international forward Michalis Kakiouzis prevailed by 92-78 in spite of Tray Buchanan's 41 points for the losing side.

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