Craig Pedersen (born June 13, 1965) is a Canadian

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and the head coach of the Iceland national team, who he has led to

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

three times, in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

. He is the longest tenured Iceland national teams coach in teams sports.

Playing career

Pedersen played professionally in Denmark from 1989 to 2003 with Horsens BC,

Horsens IC Horsens Idræts Club Basketball, commonly known as Horsens IC or Horsens, is a professional basketball team based in Horsens, Denmark. The club plays at the Forum Horsens, which can accommodate 4,000 people. The team holds six titles in the Bask ...

and

Skovbakken Vejlby Skovbakken Aarhus (; commonly known as VSK Aarhus) is a Danish football club based in Risskov, a neighbourhood in Aarhus. The club was founded in 2016 when the football departments of Vejlby IK Fodbold and Idrætsklubben Skovbakken decided ...

, winning the Danish championship in 1998.

Coaching career

He was the head coach of

Svendborg Rabbits Svendborg Rabbits is a Danish professional basketball team, from Svendborg. The club currently plays in the Basketligaen, the top division of basketball in Denmark. The home ground of the club is the Svendborg Idrætscenter, nicknamed the ''Kanin ...

from 2003 to 2015 and an assistant coach to the Denmark men's national team from 2004 to 2009. In 2014, he was hired as the head coach of the Iceland men's national team. On 22 November 2019, Pedersen signed a 3-year contract extension to continue with the Iceland national team. On 9 November 2022, Pedersen signed another contract extension to continue with the Iceland national team until 2025. On 23 February 2025, he led Iceland to its third

appearance with its qualification to

EuroBasket 2025 The EuroBasket 2025 will be the 42nd edition of the EuroBasket championship, the quadrennial international men's basketball championship organized by FIBA Europe. Like the previous three editions, the tournament will be co-hosted by multiple coun ...

Personal life

Pedersen wife is Danish. Together, they have two children.

References

1965 births Living people Bakken Bears players Canadian men's basketball coaches Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Simon Fraser Red Leafs men's basketball players Svendborg Rabbits players Forwards (basketball) {{Canada-basketball-bio-stub