Melbourne Victory is pleased to announce that Paul Barber OBE, has accepted a role on the Board of Directors at the Club.
With almost three decades working in professional football, Barber has been the Chief Executive Officer of Brighton & Hove Albion FC in the English Premier League for more than 13 years, and has also served as Deputy Chairman (under Tony Bloom) on the Board of Brighton since 2018. Together Barber and Bloom have had a tremendous impact on the growth and success of Brighton, seeing the Club widely recognised as one of the best run operations in the EPL.
Prior to his involvement at Brighton, Barber was the first British football executive to lead a club in the MLS (Major League Soccer) when Vancouver Whitecaps FC entered the league in 2011. This followed more than a decade at Tottenham Hotspur FC, where Barber was Executive Director, and The Football Association, where he was the English Governing Body’s first ever Director of Marketing, later adding commercial, communications and national team logistics responsibilities to his remit.
Paul is also the non-executive chair of charity Football Beyond Borders which uses football to work with young people from areas of socio-economic disadvantage who are disengaged at school, and has been a non-executive director of Women in Football since 2020. Paul has served as a member of The FA Council and Professional Game Board in England since 2018, and sits on various Premier League and Football Association committees.
Paul was named Chief Executive of the Year at The Football Business Awards in 2013 and then again in 2023, and became European Sports Executive of the Year at the Stadium Business Awards in 2016. Most recently, he was awarded the prestigious “Off the Pitch Award” for outstanding contribution to the advancement of women’s and girls’ football at the 2025 Women’s Football Awards. Barber is a guest lecturer for FIFA’s Diploma in Club Management, and for the PFA Business School.
Paul’s appointment will strengthen ties between Melbourne Victory and the Seagulls, significantly building on the relationship the two Clubs have already established since welcoming Tony Bloom to Victory as a major shareholder in March 2025.
Melbourne Victory Chairman John Dovaston said he was thrilled to welcome Paul to the Board and was looking forward to working alongside him to continue to grow the Club.
“We’re incredibly excited to have someone of Paul’s calibre on the Board at Melbourne Victory,” Dovaston said.
“Paul brings unparalleled experience in football, and what he has achieved in two of the biggest leagues in the world gives him a unique perspective that can only help us as we enter our next phase of growth at Victory.
Paul’s appointment will continue to strengthen the relationship between Melbourne Victory and Brighton and we know he will be an incredible asset to our Board.”
Already having a positive impact on the Club, Barber has been working with Melbourne Victory Managing Director Caroline Carnegie to embed knowledge sharing and initiate a secondment program between the two Clubs, with a drive to promote shared learnings and advance both Clubs administratively.
Barber will also spend time in Melbourne with the Victory prior to the start of the 25/26 A-Leagues seasons and looks forward to getting immersed in the Club while he is here.
Ahead of his visit to Australia, Barber said he was looking forward to contributing to the future successes of Melbourne Victory and football in Australia.
“I’m delighted to be joining the Board at Melbourne Victory,” Barber said.
“It’s a Club with an incredibly rich and proud history, and we have a great opportunity to strengthen the relationship between two great organisations and together to build the success of professional football in Australia.
“I look forward to working alongside Chairman, John Dovaston along with our other Board members, Caroline Carnegie, Kerry Smith and Carl Valeri on building an exciting future for the Club, and witnessing the passion of our staff, players, members and of course all fans of the global game here in Melbourne firsthand.”
