Former Kenya Morans coach hopes to see more women in basketball, advises national federations to step up

Being the first woman to lead and coach a national team in the AfroBasket finals and coach a side in the Basketball Africa League, former Kenya Moran’s tactician Liz Mills is keen to see other women in the sport follow in her footsteps, and in way better situations.

In a new journey to advocate for gender inclusivity in basketball, Liz Mills and her twin sister, Vic, in August came up with the Global Women in Basketball Coaching Network, the first international network for female basketball coaches.

Consisting of an elite group of female coaches all over the world, the key for the only-women platform is to find an avenue where interested individuals can engage, empower and elevate each other to success.

The networking group is available on Facebook, providing membership to approved candidates and access to free webinars, basketball material and institutional support.

“Female coaches in basketball all around the world continue to struggle in terms of opportunities due to their gender. I hope that with our network, we can attract a strong host of female coaches that will push for more opportunities on the touchline," Liz Mills stated in an interview with Mozzart Sport, adding that gender should not at any point play a role in coach selection processes.

“Coaches should be hired based on qualifications, experience and skill set,” the Australian tactician added.

Owing to her success in Africa’s basketball scene, Liz Mills is conscious of her trailblazing role in spinning around the mentality around women coaches and still acting as a figure that many want to emulate in basketball.

“I know without doubt that I wouldn’t be where I am today without the opportunities I have had in Africa. I would never have had the opportunities anywhere else across the world,” Liz Mills stated. “I am very fortunate that the clubs I have worked with had open minded individuals and federation presidents that took the courageous step to hire the best person for the job, rather than defaulting for the usual male thinking.” She added.

“The African basketball community has embraced me and I hope as a role model, I have inspired many other female coaches, kids and even club presidents towards getting opportunities in basketball,” Mills noted.

Apart from coaching the Kenya Moran’s team, she also coached Moroccan side AS Sale in the second edition of the Basketball Africa League, leading them into the quarter finals of the tournament held in Kigali, Rwanda early this year.

She has also served as an assistant coach in Zambia and Rwanda, notably being around Rwanda National League side Patriots BBC in 2019.

Holding Bachelor’s degrees in Sports Science and Sports Management, Liz Mills is also thankful to the Kenyan federation for giving her an opportunity to lead the national side, a team she labeled as ‘full of potential’, but offered national federations across Africa a blueprint towards achieving success.

“The biggest issue with most federations, including Kenya, is politics. From the top, down to the individual clubs playing in the league, the best coaches, managers and presidents are not hired because of politics,” Liz Mills said. “The result is that you have national teams and clubs performing poorly in international competitions. Once federations get rid of politics and hire the right people, things will be way better.” She emphasized.

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Top on her agenda is to not only see more women involved in the sport but to also see them land in great situations.

“Top coaches can only thrive in a good ecosystem. The administration and federation is vital because if they have interest in the game, they will make the right call. Infrastructure, presence of good facilities plus development of young coaches, scouting, analytics and film is crucial.” She offered.

With a dream to coach in the 2027 World Cup or the 2028 Olympics, Liz Mills is hopeful that she will get to work with an African national team after the 2023 BAL and possibly work with the squad to the 2025 AfroBasket tournament.