Ed Balls appointed Norwich City chairman

Ed Balls, once a cabinet minister, is now chairman of Norwich City Credit: PA

Former Shadow Chancellor and Labour MP Ed Balls has been appointed chairman of Norwich City, the Premier League club have confirmed.

Lifelong Canaries fan Balls, who lost his seat as MP for Morley and Outwood in the 2015 General Election, will take up the post "in an unpaid capacity alongside his ongoing academic, commercial, charitable and media activities", according to a statement released on the club's official website.

Joint-majority shareholders Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones welcomed Balls' appointment, saying: "We're absolutely delighted to confirm that Ed Balls is the new Chairman of Norwich City.

"His economic know-how and experience, coupled with his passion for all things Norwich City, will be a major asset for the Board and we're excited about working closely together with Ed, David McNally and the other Directors in this new era for the Club.

"Ed will work closely with all of us on the short, medium and long-term strategy to shape the future of this great football club."

Balls, who specialised in Economics at Harvard and worked for the Financial Times before embarking on his political career, added: "It's an honour and a privilege to be asked to join the Board of Directors at Norwich City as Chairman.

"From the moment my dad first took me to watch City from the terraces at Carrow Road in 1973, my earliest ambition was to play for the Club I loved. But the next best thing is to become Chairman of Norwich City, and do what I can off the pitch to help City succeed on the pitch.

"The Club's immediate priority and focus is, of course, the retention of our hard-earned Premier League status, and the hard work of my fellow Directors and all of my colleagues at the Club means Norwich City is in great shape on and off the pitch going into 2016.

"With that foundation, the challenge for all of us at Norwich is to go from the up-and-down fortunes I have known since I was a boy to an era of sustained success, and I will be proud to play my part in that."