London, May 14 The English Football Association (FA) have appointed Dan Ashworth as their chief football officer, becoming the first person to assume the role, and is being brought in to lead the high-performance strategy and new-look St. George’s Park.
Ashworth was previously the FA’s director of elite development and then technical director for a six-year tenure between 2013 and 2019. More recently he spent five months as Manchester United sporting director before his abrupt departure in September.
After holding key positions at three Premier League clubs, he returns to a newly created role with the FA, with strategic oversight across England men’s and women’s teams.
He will also oversee the regeneration of St. George’s Park, which will undergo a significant upgrade to its world-class performance facilities and pitches as England prepares to co-host UEFA Euro 2028.
Reporting into FA CEO Mark Bullingham, Ashworth will work closely with men’s technical director John McDermott and Kay Cossington’s successor in the women’s technical directorate.
He will focus primarily on optimising the potential of the national football centre and building the long-term systems that underpin the FA’s performance ambitions, from winning England teams to developing more homegrown coaches.
"Dan is a hugely influential and respected figure in the game, who has a long-standing commitment to England Football. We are very happy to welcome him back in this new role," said Bullingham.
Ashworth’s removal as sporting director had come as a huge shock after Manchester United had put in a lot of effort to snatch him from the hands of Newcastle United.
Ashworth was involved in an extravagant spending spree at Old Trafford during the summer that cost approximately 200 million Pounds (280 million USD) and brought in Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs De Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, and Joshua Zirkzee.
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