Brighton: High performance chief Mike Anthony joins from New Zealand

New Zealand’s high performance chief Mike Anthony is switching from rugby union to football to join Premier League side Brighton.

Anthony will join the club next month as the club’s first head of player development and high performance in what they feel is an innovative move focused on culture and mentality.

Anthony has 25 years’ experience in sport, including four years with rugby union side Gloucester.

However, he has made his name with New Zealand Rugby, where he has spent 14 years in a variety of senior performance roles.

Anthony’s key attributes lie in the areas of strength and conditioning, performance science, player development and elite culture building,

At Brighton, he will work with sporting director Jason Ayto, technical director Mike Cave and men’s head coach Fabian Hurzeler with the aim of improving and sustaining performance in the men’s first team.

Brighton are currently in their ninth consecutive top-flight season and two years ago played European football for the first time.

“Mike’s track record within one of world sport’s most successful high‑performance systems speaks for itself,” said sporting director Jason Ayto.

“He has an exceptional ability to build environments where players, coaches and teams can thrive, and his expertise will strengthen every part of our performance structure. We’re excited for him to get started.”