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Technical Director of FSG Football Group, Julian Ward, has shared insight on his role and his lecturing at PFA Business School.
Ward has spent the better part of the last 15 years behind the scenes at Liverpool, joining the club in 2012 as a European scouting manager before working his way through a string of increasingly senior roles.
He served as assistant sporting director under Michael Edwards, before eventually succeeding Edwards as sporting director in 2022. After a brief sabbatical from football, he returned to the fold as FSG’s technical director, taking a wider view across Fenway Sports Group’s multi-club operations.
Now it seems Ward is channelling that accumulated boardroom expertise in a rather different direction.
He has taken on a lecturing role at the PFA Business School – an initiative launched by the Professional Footballers’ Association designed to equip current and former players with the tools and knowledge needed to transition into leadership roles within the game:
“I’m currently the technical director of FSG Football Group, previously sporting director of Liverpool working after 10 years working various roles,” he said
“We have been sharing our journey to sporting/technical director roles, trying to paint a picture on what a working week looks like. How you set different objectives across the club at first-team level and academy level.”
“A broader picture beyond just player training, how you organise academies, loan systems, medical and sports science teams, for the end goal of just pushing the club forward.”
He added:
“I think the PFA Business School is a tremendous resource. We’ve got players at our own clubs that are currently on programmes. They’ve had some time with myself to try and get a feel of what opportunities are out there for them beyond their playing career.”
“I would encourage past and present players to take advantage of the opportunities that the PFA Business School are affording the members.”
“There are so many roles for players transitioning out of the game that there were decades ago, but they need some of the academic and practical skills to take the opportunities when they do arrive.”
Backed by high-profile figures including Arsène Wenger, who serves as Course Director for its undergraduate programme, the school is rapidly establishing itself as one of the most forward-thinking player development platforms in world football
Passing on elite level boardroom experience to football’s future leaders 🤝
PFA Business School lecturer Julian Ward details what players will learn from him on the course.
— PFA (@PFA) June 17, 2026