Olympic boss Ford Joins Norwich as Performance Director
Written by
Simon Austin
April 2, 2026
Paul Ford MBE has been appointed Performance Director of Norwich City after more than 15 years as Director of Sport for the British Olympic Association (BOA).
In his new role, Ford will be responsible for all elements of athlete management, including medical, performance, nutrition and psychology across Men’s, Women’s and Academy at Norwich.
At the BOA, he led on high performance strategy design for Team GB at the Olympic Games and served as Chef de Mission for a number of senior and youth teams. Last December, he wrote this article for TGG about what football can learn from Olympic sports about delivering when it matters most.
Norwich Sporting Director Ben Knapper said: “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.”
As TGG reported last month, Lee Dunn has been promoted from Head of Recruitment to Assistant Sporting Director.
Knapper said: “Lee is fully deserving of this step, and I’m looking forward to continuing the close working relationship he and I have. 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, Andrew Blofeld has been promoted from Club Secretary to Head of Football Administration and Operations. The club are also in the process of appointing a new Head of Scouting, who will report into Dunn.
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