Ilknur Kurtulus: “Professionalism always comes before gender”

For Ilknur Kurtulus, working with male athletes and teams has never been an issue. She has been used to it since her first steps into handball coaching, with a high school boys’ team back in 1994. Then, from 2000 on, at the club level with the youth teams of Nilüfer Belediyespor in Türkiye’s northwestern province of Bursa.

For many others, though, it is an issue.

Kurtulus experienced it before the 2023/24 season, when she had just signed a contract as the new head coach of Nilüfer.

She was a renowned coach on boys, youth and junior levels, who had won multiple national titles with the club. And she had been in charge of the Türkiye junior national team at the Men’s 20 EHF Championship 2022 in Bulgaria.

But head coach of a men’s senior team?

“Especially at the Super League level, I was exposed to many negative comments, such as: ‘You cannot succeed’ or ‘This will be too difficult for you.’ Unfortunately, there were also those who expected me to fail,” Kurtulus says.

Nilüfer didn’t back off. And Kurtulus even less so.

The club put out a statement underlining “the value we place on women” and adding that they were “looking forward to welcoming all Bursa handball and sports fans, especially our female fans, to our matches.”

The coach also put out a statement — not in words, but on the court.

Kurtulus built a team, blending the experienced core with talents she had previously worked with in the club’s youth department in trying to establish “an injury-free, enjoyable style of play and to finish among the top four teams in the Super League.”

In her first season at the helm, Nilüfer won the play-offs for fifth place in the Turkish league, then finished runners-up behind champions Besiktas JK last season.

But that was only the beginning.

Meeting Besiktas again last August in the Super Cup final, Nilüfer held the champions to a 33:33 draw before prevailing 38:37 in a seven-metre shootout.

That result silenced many critics. This was not only Nilüfer’s first domestic trophy, but also the first trophy for a men’s team with a female head coach at the top level in any sport in Türkiye.

“Seeing the results of years of hard work, the strong team spirit we built together with my colleagues, and the positive impact this created in Turkish handball, has been incredibly rewarding for me,” Kurtulus says.

“The most important factor is the healthy and balanced relationship between our young players and our experienced athletes. All of our players and staff are extremely valuable to us. The spirit of unity, disciplined and devoted work, and a strong desire to win are clearly reflected in our rising performance on the court.”

The story has since continued in the EHF European Cup Men 2025/26.

Playing their first international season in 10 years, Nilüfer defeated FH Hafnarfjordur — Iceland’s participants in the EHF European League group matches last season — and Luxembourg’s HB Red Boys Differdange over the past few months to set up a Last 16 pairing with Czech side SKKP Handball Brno next February.

It gives Kurtulus the chance of creating another first for the club: Nilüfer also played the Last 16 of the Challenge Cup 12 years ago but have never been beyond that stage of any European club competition.

“The results we have achieved so far are extremely meaningful for our entire team. They provide strong motivation for even greater success in the future,” Kurtulus says.

That she would be leading a men’s team to domestic and international success one day was certainly not on Kurtulus’ mind when she got in touch with handball in her high school years.

She recalls how she was “14, 15 years old” when she first played the game in physical education classes. Later, handball was also part of her university courses, says Kurtulus, a 1993 graduate of the Faculty of Sport at the Bursa Uludag University.

Her coaching career started soon after.

“That was in 1994, during my compulsory service in eastern Türkiye at Malatya Orduzu Bahcebasi High School. Since I had students who were already interested in handball, I decided to establish my first team,” Kurtulus recalls.

“Although I had licenses in volleyball and athletics, I had no previous coaching experience in handball. What carried me forward was research, perseverance, and discipline. Over 31 years, this effort has shaped my entire career.”

Going her own way, Kurtulus hadn’t inherited the love for the sport from her family, and her friends at school were also unfamiliar with handball, “the purest form of a team sport,” as she describes it.

“Team harmony is the most critical key to success. The spirit of unity at the heart of the game has always been what attracted me the most,” Kurtulus says.

“At the same time, it is a sport that requires very high physical and psychological endurance, is full of surprises, and includes many different tactical variations. All of this makes handball extremely exciting to both play and watch.”

While she took her first steps in handball coaching at the school in Malatya, her club career took shape in Bursa, where she has spent her entire career — apart from her national team duties in Ankara.

Many players from youth teams that had Kurtulus as coach have turned professional through the years.

“Today, many of them continue their careers as coaches, teachers, and active athletes, which is one of my greatest sources of pride,” she says.

In her three-decade-long career as a handball coach, Kurtulus has seen it all: players of different ages, of different levels, and — indeed — of different genders.

While she has proven the critics who say female coaches won’t lead a men’s team to success wrong, she does believe male and female players require a different approach.

“Training programmes must be designed according to age group and gender. Physical and psychological endurance levels must always be taken into consideration,” Kurtulus explains.

“While working with female athletes, emotional sensitivities may be more pronounced, and this requires a more attentive approach. Other than these nuances, when the system starts from the youth level and continues consistently up to the Super League, great success is achievable for both genders.”

And the other way around? How much does it matter for a team whether their coach is a woman or a man?

“In my opinion, gender is far less decisive for coaches than it is for players,” Kurtulus replies. “Professionalism always comes before gender. Staying professional under all circumstances, maintaining healthy boundaries with players and staff, and working in a disciplined manner are the real factors that define success.”

Kurtulus’ tremendous career path, from a young woman who started coaching in high school in the 1990s to an experienced leader who guides a men’s team to a national trophy triumph and the Last 16 of a European cup competition in 2025/26, makes her a true role model — in Türkiye and beyond.

Her story can inspire other female coaches to choose and keep following their own path — even if people in their environment are trying to tell them their road is just a blind alley.

“I strongly believe that when women truly want something, work with determination, and most importantly, when they are supported, extraordinary achievements can be reached in every field,” Kurtulus says.

“I feel very fortunate to work with the management and staff of Nilüfer Belediyespor, who have always supported me. I sincerely believe that this kind of support should be given to all women with big dreams and strong goals.”

Photos © Bulgarian Handball Federation (main & in-text), Berke Özkan & Nilüfer BSK (in-text)