Chelsea HC - Coaches

Men Head Coach

Ilias Kinalopoulos

Born in Alexandroupolis, Greece in 1968.
A sports dedicated person since his youth , he started by doing Pole Vaulting. His Handball passion came soon after and played in several high profile Greek clubs as a Right-Wing until his playing retirement in 2001.
In the meantime, he had started coaching Junior teams, being promoted to senior coach to some of the best Greek and Cypriot teams (Men and Women) after his retirement, and then recognised as a Greek Federal Coach by the Greek Handball Federation.
With Chelsea HC since 2019, his vision is to get the Men team to the Premier League and stabilise Chelsea HC as one of the best teams in the country.

Ilias: "Chelsea has all the conditions to progress athletes and teams to the highest level possible."

Women Head Coach

Nélson Oliveira

Born in Porto, Portugal in 1989.

His love for handball started young as he started playing since he was 8 years old, playing for good Portuguese teams during his career and also called to represent Regional teams. Before his arrival in the UK, he was also coaching Junior teams in Portugal for 4 years.
With Chelsea HC as a player since 2017 and Men's Captain for the last two seasons, he was asked to lead and coach the Women team mid 2019. His vision with the Women team, is to pick the good work already achieved and still improve it to reach the Premier League and put Chelsea HC as a respected and competitive club in the UK

Nélson: "We have the quality and we are on the way up. There are rocks on the way, but we will clear the path and succeed!"

Goalkeepers & Women Assistant Coach

Miguel Figueiredo

Born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1980
Since his early primary school days, as he wanted to play football with the older kids, they would tell him to be in goal. There and then the goalkeeping bug was caught.
Playing Handball since the age of 10 in clubs from the Lisbon area, and for the last 12 years in the UK, he has seen how well Handball has progressed and risen in the UK especially after the Olympic Games in 2012.

With Chelsea HC since 2017 as a player and now as a GK coach, his vision is to develop the Chelsea HC's goalkeepers to the highest standard possible in the UK.

Miguel: "Chelsea's goalkeepers, from Juniors to Seniors, have the talent to be even better. I will do my best to help this to happen!"

Juniors Head Coach

Jamie Lau

Born in Hong Kong in 1979
Playing Handball since he was 12 years old, he has won several Junior Championships back in Hong Kong, and called to Senior teams at only 15 years old, before moving to Scotland and becoming Scottish Vice-Champion with Edinburgh. After moving to Dundee he had his first coaching experience as player-coach.

One of the earliest members of Chelsea HC, and supporting the club and Handball in general immensely, he received the coveted Volunteer of the Season award by the England Handball Association in the 2017/2018 season.

His vision is to promote Handball as a fun and exciting sport for the youth, adding quality to the development of the younger players and provide a stable future for the club and the sport.

Jamie: "There is an ever-growing support for the Junior teams from the club and parents, so the future is bright! Long road but as a team we will do it!"