Newly appointed Nigeria national cricket head coach and High Performance Manager, Stephen Maziva Mangongo, has pledged to lead the country’s senior men’s team, the Yellow Greens, to qualification for the 2028 ICC World Cup.
Mangongo made the commitment during his unveiling at the TBS Cricket Oval in Lagos on Tuesday. The Zimbabwean tactician is widely known for guiding Zimbabwe to a historic victory over Australia during the 2014 Tri-Series.
President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), Uyi Akpata, said the new coach emerged after a rigorous recruitment process that attracted 44 candidates from across the world.
Akpata expressed confidence in Mangongo’s experience and technical capacity to strengthen Nigeria’s cricket development programme and improve the competitiveness of the national teams on the international stage.
“The screening panel said it was clear that Steve was our man based on his experience and pedigree,” Akpata said.
The ICC Level 3-certified coach brings nearly three decades of experience to the role, having served as assistant coach at four ICC Men’s World Cups and head coach of Zimbabwe’s national team. He also claimed the ICC Intercontinental Trophy with Zimbabwe ‘A’ in 2008, won back-to-back national coaching awards in Zimbabwe in 2009 and 2010.
He is also credited with mentoring Hamilton Masakadza — the youngest centurion on Test debut -and Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwe’s youngest ever captain.
But Mangongo wasted no time setting targets, declaring that qualifying for the 2028 World Cup is “very achievable” and pledging to lift Nigeria’s current T20 ranking of 38th to 35th or below within his first year.
“The Nigeria Cricket Federation are very ambitious. They want results, they want the age-grade teams to produce future stars, and they want Nigeria at a World Cup,” he said. “This is serious business. I am under no illusion that it’s going to be a walk in the park.”
The new coach said he was already encouraged by what he saw when he observed the Nigeria men’s squad during qualifiers in Zimbabwe, describing the players as hungry, ambitious and willing to learn. He also pointed to Nigeria’s booming grassroots cricket base as a foundation that even Zimbabwe lacked at a comparable stage.
“When you have got such numbers, you are guaranteed that you will produce good players,” he said.
Mangongo, who also spent six years running a private cricket academy in Johannesburg, said his decision to take the role was driven by more than professional ambition.
“As an African, I felt very proud that there is one of our countries that wants to take cricket to the next level,” he said. “There is no better honour than achieving success with your own people.”
Asked about the pressure of the NCF’s ambitions, the new coach was unfazed.
“Life is pressure,” he said. “I’ve been in the trenches for nearly three decades. Pressure does not choke me.”
