THE AFL has appointed highly regarded academic Damian Farrow to a newly created role within its football operations team.

Farrow, a professor of skill acquisition, has previously worked with AFL clubs West Coast, Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs and will join the League as its new umpiring coaching and innovation manager.

It's understood a number of clubs had also approached Farrow for positions within their football departments, before he accepted a role at AFL House.

Considered a world leader in his field, Farrow has more than 20 years' worth of experience working in a host of elite sporting programs both in Australia and abroad.

He has worked in a number of programs at the Australian Institute of Sport, as well as with the Australian rugby union side, Tennis Australia, Cricket Australia and at Super Rugby clubs the Queensland Reds and the Otago Highlanders.

Farrow had most recently been working with the Western Bulldogs, managing its sports science partnership with Victoria University since 2014.

He is expected to start his role with the AFL in the coming months.