Online Reporter
Brandon Moyo [email protected]
FORMER Chevrons head coach Steve Mangongo believes the strong ties between Zimbabwe and Nigeria can help drive the growth of cricket in the West African country following his appointment as head coach of the Nigeria national team and manager of its high-performance programme.
Speaking to Zimpapers Sports Hub before his official unveiling at TBS Cricket Oval in Lagos yesterday, Mangongo said the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) and Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) already enjoy a close relationship. He believes this partnership can open doors for player exchanges, as well as the development of coaches and umpires.
The experienced coach also made it clear that he wants to build a competitive team that plays fearless and exciting cricket.
“Nigeria has excellent relations with Zimbabwe Cricket, and I see Nigeria benefiting from player exchange programs, age group cricket and training of coaches and umpires. I want to try and instill a culture of tough cricket, a team which fights with ball or bat and plays a fearless brand of exciting cricket.
“Top order batting requires serious skills sets and genuine fast bowling. These two areas will be a priority in order to set challenging totals to win games. Fast bowlers are critical in striking especially with the new ball early in the innings,” said Mangongo.
Mangongo, who has played a key role in developing cricket in Zimbabwe from junior level through to the senior team, said Nigeria has the potential to grow the sport further.
He noted that there is already strong interest in cricket among young people in Africa’s most populous nation.
Mangongo believes that strengthening grassroots structures and improving the high-performance programme will be essential in building a solid cricket culture.
“Cricket must grow in Africa and Nigeria has ingredients necessary to see the expansion of cricket. I was involved during the formative years of Uganda cricket into semi-professional and I see rapid growth in Nigeria as many youths have shown interest there.
“Grassroots is the foundation, it creates the sustainability of cricket therefore from a High Performance perspective i would like to see Nigeria taking the next step apart from a job well done to create mass participation in most states. Nigeria needs to start robust age group competition from Under-11 up to Under-17 so that the talented boys and girls can get specialised training in early age groups,” he said.
He also highlighted the importance of proper facilities, saying they are critical in supporting young players by providing safe and suitable training environments.
Mangongo takes over from Kenyan coach Steve Tikolo, who held the role for more than three years between October 2022 and January 2026.
His appointment brings to an end the NCF’s four-month search for a new coach, as Nigeria prepares to compete in the ICC 2028 T20 World Cup qualifiers later this year.
