A highly-rated retired consultant orthopaedic sports and knee surgeon has been unveiled as a new director at Championship club Caley Thistle.
Panos Thomas has been a season ticket holder at the Caledonian Stadium for the past decade and he takes the step now into the boardroom to bolster the experience there.
Thomas was appointed as the tutor in orthopaedic sports surgery by the Royal College of Surgeons in England and in 2014-16 became its national orthopaedic tutor.
Director is highly-skilled medic
He developed the MSc in Sports and Exercise Medicine of the University College London UCL in 1999, being the programme director until 2010.
Thomas has been an executive member of the British Orthopaedic Sports Trauma Arthroscopy Association BOSTAA, where he was elected as the president (2016-2018).
He was invited as an orthopaedic specialist to provide cover and advice during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London 2012.
In 2018, he assisted in the successful bid to stage the ESSKA Conference in Glasgow, Scotland where he was a member of the directors’ board.
Thomas has been involved with the treatment of elite athletes for a number of years and has been advising the medical teams of clubs such as Arsenal, Watford, Barnet, MK Dons, Brentford, Wycombe Wanderers, Leyton Orient and AFC Wimbledon.
He has provided advice to British Fencing, British Ski Federation, British American Football League and other elite sports organisations.
Chief welcomes ‘dynamic’ director
Caley Thistle chairman Ross Morrison is sure the new addition will be of huge benefit to the side which aims to return to the Premiership for the first time since 2017.
He said: “We feel that Panos will bring a wide range of skills of to the board as well as to the football club.
“Living in the Highlands as he does, he has supported the club for a decade now and he understands what we are all about and where we want to go.
“I am particularly pleased to see him join us formally as he is an extremely dynamic and highly-respected individual.
“Following on from the recent appointment of Graeme Bennett, the new skill-sets and fresh points of view can only make us stronger as a club and I look forward to working with Panos.”
Thomas eager to serve Inverness club
Thomas wants to share the passion he has of the team with his fellow directors to drive the club forward.
He said: “I am delighted and honoured to join the board of directors of ICTFC.
“I fell in love with the area and the people when I first visited my wife’s family over 30 years ago.
“Our family moved locally 10 years ago and one of my first priorities was to purchase a season ticket at Caledonian Stadium.
“I enjoyed the excellent run of the team in the Premiership and, of course, the glorious Scottish Cup final day (in 2015).
“As a new custodian of the club, I’m determined to serve its values and I’m looking forward to assist the board to achieve the goals and targets that the club and our fans deserve.”
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