Brighton: Dan Ashworth, ex-FA boss, to join Warwickshire committee
- Published
Dan Ashworth joined Brighton in February 2019 after occupying a similar role at the Football Association
Brighton technical director Dan Ashworth is to lend his football expertise to cricket by also working for new county champions Warwickshire.
Ashworth, 50, who began his career as a footballer and reached director level with West Brom and England, will sit on the Bears' cricket audit committee.
"To tap into his skills, experience and vision could be game-changing for Warwickshire," said CEO Stuart Cain.
"Dan has been working at the highest level of football for several years."
After Ashworth's hopes of making it as a professional footballer ended at Norwich, he worked in youth football with Peterborough United and Cambridge United before joining West Bromwich Albion in March 2004.
He then took over from Aidy Boothroyd as the Baggies' academy director in June 2004 before succeeding Simon Hunt as their sporting and technical director in 2007.
He was then headhunted by the Football Association to become director of elite development in 2012, a role he filled for seven years until resigning from the FA in 2018 to join Brighton.
He is still based in the Midlands, from his time with West Brom.
Crossing codes
The use of other figures from another sport was perhaps first pioneered by Wolves, who had former England women's cricket captain Rachael Heyhoe-Flint on their board in a marketing and PR role under the Hayward family in 1997.
Southampton then appointed former England rugby union player and coach Clive Woodward to be their technical director in 2004.
Bristol City chief executive Richard Gould, son of football legend Bobby, served his time in the CEO role with two county cricket clubs, Somerset and Surrey before moving to Ashton Gate.
And Warwickshire's own CEO Cain took up his role with the Bears after joining the club from Coventry-based Premiership outfit Wasps.
"We want to create the best high-performance structure and culture within the game, which will help us to produce Warwickshire teams that can consistently win and challenge for trophies across senior and county age group levels," said Cain.
Dan Ashworth first worked with former England boss Roy Hodgson when they were at West Bromwich Albion
"The club prides itself on being innovative and we have no hesitation in looking beyond traditional cricket circles to achieve our goals.
"In addition to regularly providing input to the cricket audit committee, Dan will mentor the coaches and cricket management team, providing opportunities for them to experience new high-performance environments in football."
Ashworth will sit on the cricket audit committee alongside Cain, Bears director of cricket Paul Farbrace, chairman Mark McCafferty and long-standing members John Dodge and John Winspear.
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