The Canaries have confirmed that Dr Paul Ford will join the club after more than 15 years in high‑performance leadership with Team GB and the British Olympic Association. He will be tasked with shaping an elite environment and will take responsibility for their medical, performance, nutrition and psychology strategy.
His appointment comes after City’s review of their injury levels as they attempt to address the issue heading into the new campaign. Ford will sit above the heads of medical and performance, stepping into professional football for the first time.
Ford’s task will be about triangulating coaching, performance, medical and strategising rather than implementation. It is a similar role to one that others in the Championship have utilised in recent years, most notably Claire-Marie Roberts at Coventry. He will take up the role formally next week.
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The appointment of a performance director comes as part of a broader reshaping of City’s football operation, with Norwich having also announced that head of recruitment Lee Dunn has been promoted to assistant sporting director, stepping into the role with immediate effect.
Dunn will support sporting director Ben Knapper whilst continuing to lead on recruitment and scouting. He will also assume responsibility for loan management, player pathways and analytics after impressing in his former role as head of recruitment. It comes after Neil Adams‘ decision to retire in the summer.
“Lee is fully deserving of this step, and I’m looking forward to continuing the close working relationship he and I have,” Knapper told official club channels.
“He’s a well-respected figure, both inside the club as well as externally, and having him in a role where he can continue to heavily drive scouting and recruitment, whilst also influencing more broadly across other areas of our football operation, will be hugely beneficial.
“Meanwhile, Paul is a really exciting hire, and I’m delighted to welcome him to the club. He is a vastly experienced high-performance leader, and his knowledge of elite athlete management across multiple sports will be invaluable for us going forwards.
“He’ll bring a fresh and innovative perspective that will help take our programme to the next level.”
With Dunn stepping into a new position, Norwich are already in the process of hiring a new head of scouting and are understood to be progressing towards an appointment.
They will also be pushed into appointing a new head of football development, with Dean Rastrick set to move to Everton. The clubs have agreed on a package that will take the former Tottenham chief to the Hill Dickinson Stadium in the near future as City step up their search for a successor.
It is the second high-profile departure from their academy set-up, following Joe Shulberg‘s move to join ex-City boss Johannes Hoff Thorup as part of his coaching team at Rapid Vienna in January.
City have also confirmed that long-serving club secretary Andrew Blofeld has stepped into a new role as head of football administration and operations.
