Des Buckingham (born 7 February 1985) is an English professional football manager who was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship club Oxford United.

[4] At 31 years of age, he became the youngest manager in A-League history and was able to lift the club off the bottom of the table, finishing one place outside the playoffs at the end of the season.

[1][5] In July, 2017 Buckingham was granted permission to leave Wellington Phoenix and take up a role at Stoke City, then in the Premier League, as an assistant coach with their under-23 team.

[10][11] At the World Cup, Buckingham's New Zealand side recorded their highest ever finish at a men's FIFA tournament, eventually being knocked out by Colombia in the round of 16 after a controversial penalty shoot-out.

[18][19][20][21][22][23] Despite being linked to clubs in the English Football League and A-League, Buckingham accepted the New Zealand U23 managerial position in June 2019, leading the side into the 2019 Pacific Games and OFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

[46][47] Buckingham's side became the most successful Indian Club to compete in the AFC Champions League,[48] finishing second in Group B, with results against Al-Jazira[49] and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya[50] adding to their second-round win.

The team progressed to the knockout stages, finishing top of their five-team group that included Indian Super League clubs ATK Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.

[54] Mumbai City advanced through the quarter-final stage, beating Chennaiyin before securing a win over Mohammedan in the semi-finals to make their first ever Durand Cup Final.

[60] Buckingham began the 23–24 season with the 2023 Durand Cup, where Mumbai were drawn in a group with Jamshedpur FC, Mohammedan SC, and the Indian Navy football team.

Mumbai won all three games of the group stage with a +11 goal difference, but ended up losing in the quarter-final to eventual winners Mohun Bagan Super Giant.

[67] After making a reasonable start in the Championship in 2024–25, he was sacked on 15 December 2024 with the club in 20th place after a run of poor results,[68] a decision that surprised and disappointed many supporters.