Mbongeni Greg Mpofu has been appointed as head coach of the Manchester Mystics Under 18 National League and WEABL teams for the 2018/19 season.

The 30-year-old has been an integral part of the Mystics coaching team for the past two years.

He now gets the chance to lead the U18 programme on and off the floor.

In another key move for the club, Joe Forber becomes acting director of the Mystics junior programme.

“I’m excited about the project and the opportunity to lead the programme in a new direction, especially in the middle of a crucial period for our sport and the women’s game in particular,” said Mpofu.

“It’s certainly a sizeable challenge, but one I feel I’m suited to.

“Implementing a greater use of performance analysis methods, establishing an enhanced pastoral set-up, and encouraging players to have greater ownership of their development and progression pathways will be crucial to the success of the project.”

The Mystics U18s reached last season’s NBL Final Fours under the guidance of Joe Andrew, Natalie Feurtado and Mpofu.

Guiding Mpofu in his new role and overseeing the entire Mystics junior programme is the club’s co-founder Forber.

He has spent the past 18 months re-energising the girls’ set-up from the bottom up and is behind a new U12 league for teams in the north of England.

“We are now building a deep and good quality coaching staff and Greg will be a very important member of the group,” said Forber.

“We are in the very early stages of building a top girls’ programme from Under 12 to Under 18 and WEABL.

“The coaches are very much together and their passion and enthusiasm will begin to pay dividends as we move forward.

“I am happy to help the programme in any way I can and look forward to seeing all our coaches further their basketball careers.”