Ayto: It's clear why Albion is a special club

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Bruce Talbot

2025-10-23T06:00+01:00

Sporting director Jason Ayto. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

New sporting director Jason Ayto discussed his new role and his vision for the men's and women's teams in the recent of edition of the matchday programme, as we beat Newcastle United 2-1 at the Amex.

Jason, you have been here for a month now. What are your early impressions of the club?

Very positive! Firstly, everyone has been so welcoming and supportive to me and my family, so to feel that culture of the club straight away has been special. But just as importantly, I’ve been so impressed by the people we have here, there is so much talent in the club and this is complemented with a really strong competitive drive and energy that is present in the way everyone approaches their role and wants to push to help the club getting better, each and every day. Fabian Hurzeler embodies that in many ways, and it’s been great to get to know him, and begin building that relationship as well.

You have been appointed as Albion's first sporting director. But what is the difference between your role and that of a technical director and how does your relationship with Mike Cave work?

Jason Ayto and Mike Cave. 📷 by James Boardman.

The title of sporting director has evolved into being the accepted industry term, but what’s really important is my role is to oversee and be ultimately responsible for all the football areas of the club, and ensuring everything aligns with our long-term vision, while also supporting Fabian and Dario Vidosic in delivering a high-performance environment that can help us perform well in the here and now.

Mike’s promotion to the technical director role, was an important step to recognise the value he has demonstrated in his time at the club already, and he will report into me, but will work in close partnership across all areas, with him moving closer to the men’s first team, with a particular focus on medical and performance in his new role.

Personally, having someone like Mike, who is so well respected in the club and has such great knowledge of everything, is a great support for me coming into my new role. It has helped my integration process be a lot quicker as a result. We have similar values, and complementary skill sets so the working relationship has settled into place very quickly, and that’s also been really pleasing.

Was it a big wrench to leave Arsenal after over ten years there and what was it about Albion that attracted you to the role?

I had a great time and I’m proud of everything we achieved and built there, but it was the right time to move on, and I couldn’t be happier to be here. This is a forward-thinking club that I have admired from the outside for many years. So, I feel really privileged to join Albion and be a part of a club that is hugely ambitious and with such a relentless competitive drive to never be satisfied and always look to push on and improve in the future. Having been here a month now, it’s even more clear to me why this is a special club and it’s down to having such talented people at all levels across all disciplines. Their dedication and drive to take the club forward is infectious and I couldn’t be excited by what we can achieve here together.

How do you envisage your time being split between the men's and women's departments and what are the main challenges facing both?

Jason Ayto spent over ten years working for Arsenal. 📷 by James Boardman.

Both departments are of integral importance to the club, so my responsibility is to ensure we are well aligned and connected and that both set-ups are always driving towards meeting our goals. My time will be split dependent on what the strategic priorities for both departments might be at any one time. With Zoe Johnson, we have a top operator so on a day-to-day basis she is in complete charge, but I will always be close to Dario and her to support on any matters that arise, and then Mike and I will work closely with Zoe on player trading, contracts and any strategic projects we feel necessary to support the continued growth of our women’s set up.

The men’s side will demand more day-to-day focus, to support Fabian and his staff, but with Mike in his role as technical director and Ian Buckman as the academy manager, I feel fortunate to have inherited some exceptional operators who can all help me bring this whole operation together.

The main challenges are similar for both departments, as we compete against clubs with much bigger financial resources than our own in both the Premier League and WSL. But the ambition set right at the top from Tony Bloom and Paul Barber is exciting and runs through the DNA of the whole club. And of course, we recognise the reality of the challenge we have in front of us to qualify for Europe more regularly, and to win that first major trophy in both the men’s and women’s. But by being innovative, by being brave and being confident of all the amazing resources and talent we have available to us at the club, if we consistently perform well across all aspects of the club, the opportunity to do amazing things will happen.

You can get your copy of the programme here.