McCunn, who holds his PhD in Sports Medicine, joins from Scottish Premiership side Hearts to lead the Lights’ performance and medical departments
Las Vegas Lights FC today announced the club has hired Robert McCunn as Performance Director.
The Scot holds his PhD in Sports Medicine from Saarland University, home to a FIFA medical research center, and has served as Head of Performance at Hearts, one of the top clubs in the Scottish Premiership, since 2020.
McCunn will oversee both the performance and medical departments at the Lights, including player activations, strength and conditioning programs, return-to-play protocols, rehabilitation processes, and more in close collaboration with the full technical staff.
His performance and medical team at the club consists of three full-time staff members: Physical Therapist Eduardo Gutierrez, Athletic Trainer Estefani de Santiago, and Nutritionist & Conditioning Coordinator Chris Drost.
“We’re very excited to have Dr. Bob joining us to lead our performance and medical teams,” said Sporting Director Gianleonardo Neglia. “He has delivered results at the highest level and, as a PhD with over a decade of experience in professional soccer, is extremely qualified to oversee all facets of these departments. Adding someone of this caliber is a tremendous step forward for the club as we strive to elevate our performance on and off the pitch. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him during the hiring process, and I’m looking forward to his contributions as we take the next step in our project.”
Along with his PhD in Sports Medicine, McCunn is an Accredited Sport & Exercise Scientist (CASES), an Accredited Strength & Conditioning Coach (UKSCA), achieved his MBA from the London School of Economics & Political Science, and holds his UEFA Football Fitness B License.
He began his career with Heart of Midlothian Football Club (Hearts) as an Academy Sport Scientist in 2012 for two years before starting his PhD program at Saarland University. While finishing his PhD, McCunn served as Performance Sport Manager at Oriam Sports Performance Centre.
In 2019, the Scot joined Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Club in Australia as Sport Scientist, where he led all athlete performance monitoring processes and helped the club to NRL playoffs qualification.
McCunn then returned to Hearts as Head of Performance in 2020, where he led and managed a multidisciplinary team of 30 people across the men’s, women’s, and youth teams for the club. During his time with Hearts, the team were crowned Scottish Championship league winners in 2020-21 and qualified for the UEFA Conference League group stage in 2022-23 and 2024-25.
