[citation needed][1] In 1993 transferred to Sweden where he joined Visby IF Gute where he played for 2 seasons, scoring 14 goals in 43 matches.
[2] During the 1995 Virslīga season for which Popkovs had started with Amstrig Rīga as a player he was offered to replace club's coach Georgijs Gusarenko.
In 2003 Popkovs took up the new and ambitious team FK Jūrmala with which he won the 1st Latvian league and earned a promotion for 2004 Virslīga.
In 2004 Jūrmala proved itself as a tough team by finishing 5th in its debut year, just two points behind one of the league heavyweights - Dinaburg FC.
[5] In September 2013 Popkovs was appointed by the Latvian Higher League club FK Spartaks Jūrmala, as he replaced Aleksandrs Stradiņš, who had worked with the team since July 2013.