Toronto FC announced today the hiring of César Meylan as the club’s new Director of Performance. Meylan brings 14 years of international football experience to Toronto FC’s staff, having worked for both the Canada Men’s and Women’s National Team programs and New Zealand Football Programs working alongside Toronto FC Head Coach John Herdman.
Meylan will oversee the strength and conditioning programs for the First Team, Toronto FC II and Toronto FC Academy and work closely with Head Athletic Therapist Carmelo Lobue on player health and rehabilitation.
“Adding a professional like César is crucial for improving our team’s physical performance,” said Toronto FC President Bill Manning. “César has years of experience working with players at the highest level, and his familiarity with John and his staff will greatly benefit us in an area where we need to improve. We’re excited to welcome him to Toronto FC.”
The Lausanne, Switzerland native spent over 12 years with Canada Soccer, where he served as a Physical Performance Coach and department lead before becoming the Director of Health and Athletic Performance for the Men’s and Women’s National Team Programs. During his time with Canada, Meylan supported the CWNT when they won the Olympic Gold medal in Tokyo, two Olympic Bronze medals (London 2012 and Rio 2016) and the Gold medal at the Pan-American Games (Guadalajara 2011). He also participated in two FIFA Women’s World Cups (Canada 2015, France 2019), two Concacaf Nations Leagues (2019-2020, 2022-2023), one FIFA World Cup (Qatar 2022) and two Concacaf Gold Cups (2021, 2023).
“It is an immense honour to join Toronto FC,” said Meylan. “I am very excited to contribute to the growth and success of the team and organization through deliberate and innovative strategies in players’ physical development and performance. I cannot wait to meet the players and staff and embark on this new journey.”
Prior to moving to Canada, he held a PhD scholarship with New Zealand Football in the area of youth development and worked as a Physical Performance Coach with the Football Ferns in their 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign.
Meylan holds a number of qualifications, including a Master of Art in Physical Education (University of Lausanne, Switzerland), a Master of Science in Biomechanics (Edith Cowan University, Australia) and a Doctorate in Strength & Conditioning (Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand). He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia, has supervised various postgraduate students and authored over 30 peer-reviewed scientific publications, applying research at the forefront of high performance.
