Paul McVeigh was a professional footballer for almost 20 years. He played for clubs in the English Premier League such as Tottenham Hotspur, Burnley and Norwich City and earned 40 caps for Northern Ireland.

In more than 300 appearances, Paul McVeigh was a key member of two Championship-winning teams and rose to the top flight of English football.

Paul is the author of the ironically titled book ‘The Stupid Footballer is Dead’. He is the first person in history to play in the English Premier League and to graduate with a Masters in Sports Psychology.

During his active career, he was able to compete at the highest level with some of the best players in the world. In his lectures, he talks about what we can learn from the most competitive industry in the world.

Paul McVeigh lecture topics

  • Psychology of Performance

Performance encompasses numerous, multi-layered principles that can be broken down to drive progress. Many top organisations consistently work on the technical component, but the psychological approach is always the biggest difference between proposed goals and actual results. Paul McVeigh uses his expertise to motivate your people to consciously improve their peak mental performance.

  • Psychology of Leadership

The latest empirical research defines what a leader is, what they do and how they do it. Realising this key principle, the power of beliefs, can help shape the leaders of the future; because understanding, improving and working on our limiting beliefs is crucial for continuous growth. But you can’t get the best out of others if you don’t get the best out of yourself. Paul McVeigh shares his insights to help your leaders strengthen their belief in what’s possible.

  • Psychology of Teamwork

In this talk, Paul McVeigh focuses on the characteristics that the world’s highest performing teams have in common. He emphasises that these teams share a consistent, tangible and methodical way of working. To do this, he uses a proven framework called P.A.C.E. (Performance, Accountability, Confidence & Execution) to help team members engage and flourish. It’s all about unlocking the potential of each individual in the team and developing future leaders.

In all three areas, Paul uses his unique combination of experience as a professional footballer in the Premier League and his training in psychology to provide practical insights and strategies that are applicable to both sport and business.

Paul McVeigh works in a variety of fields: As a performance psychologist, he works with executives and teams across a range of industries, particularly in the financial services, technology and professional services sectors. In addition to his work as a management consultant and keynote speaker, he is a regular guest expert on radio and television programmes, including BBC, Sky Sports and BT Sport.