Dr Paul Balsom, Med. Sci

Paul is a UEFA Pro Licence Coach and Head of UEFA’s Fitness for Football Advisory Group. He graduated from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm in 1996, with a PhD (Dr Med Sci) in Exercise Physiology, which focused on performance and metabolic responses with very high intensity intermittent exercise. For the last 25 years, he has provided best practice performance enhancing scientific support solutions in professional football, at both international club and national team (Sweden) level, driving the physical/fitness aspect of team performance & using this as a competitive advantage. He is particularly interested in how technology and data can be used to enhance performance. Whilst part of the Swedish National team, he has attended 6 consecutive UEFA Euro final championships and 3 World Cup final tournaments. Between 2008 and 2021, Paul was part of the backroom staff at Leicester City F.C. and in 2016, was Head of Sports Science and Performance Analysis, when they became only the 6th team to win the English Premier League at 5000/1 outsiders. In 2017, Paul was appointed Head of Performance Innovation at the King Power owned football club OH Leuven who, in 2020, were promoted to the top 1A league in Belgium. In addition to his current roles at the Swedish Football Association and UEFA, Paul also works as a Performance Advisor for Tigres UANL, in Mexico.