Former Tottenham executive Paul Barber has been installed as the new CEO of incoming MLS franchise Vancouver Whitecaps.

The 42-year old London native said he was delighted to become a part of such an exciting venture and admitted it was not a hard decision to jump on board.

"This is one of the best cities to live in in the world, the Vancouver Whitecaps is a fantastic football brand, and the people here - the staff, the ownership, the supporter base - were all good reasons to come," said Barber.

"To be honest with you, it didn't take an awful lot of persuading on the part of the ownership group to convince me to take the job. I've been very lucky in my career to have done two dream jobs so far - with the national team and then I had the opportunity to lead my hometown club, the club I've supported since I was a small kid. This is a third dream job.

"I'm proud and privileged to be coming here."

The Vancouver franchise will enter MLS in 2011 as the 17th team, following the Philadelphia Union who join the league this season.