Belgian Cats coach Rachid Meziane will join WNBA team Connecticut Sun as head coach starting in January 2025, where he signed a long-term contract until 2028. Meziane will leave his current club, Villeneuve from Ascq, in mid-December. In the coming weeks, his position as national coach will become clearer.
The Connecticut Sun said goodbye to coach Stephanie White, the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year, at the end of October. Connecticut failed to make the semifinals of the Playoffs last season and was eliminated against Minnesota. The national coach Rachid Meziane has been identified as the ideal successor to The Sun. He signed a long-term contract there until 2028.
“First of all, it’s an opportunity that we absolutely want to give to Rachid, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” declared the general director of the Belgian Cats, Koen Umans. “The WNBA remains the highest level of women’s basketball and, in our opinion, it is also a place where Rachid has a place with his qualities.”
Meziane will leave her current club Villeneuve d’Ascq before the Christmas holidays and officially join the Connecticut Sun in early January 2025. The new WNBA season will begin on April 27, 2025.
Soon more clarity on the position of national coach
“As for Rachid’s commitment as coach of the Belgian Cats, we will clarify it in the coming weeks,” continued Umans. “In the third and final window of FIBA EuroBasket 2025 qualifying, we will play Azerbaijan at home on Thursday, February 6 and Lithuania on Sunday, February 9. We obviously hope to qualify again for EuroBasket 2025 and thus have the chance to defend our title. »
