Sport England has announced the appointment of two new directors who will lead the organisation's work with National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of sport.

Paul Smith joins Sport England after a five-year tenure as head of public affairs at the Football Association, and Lisa O'Keefe has received an internal promotion from the post of interim head of national sport.

NGBs play a critical role in delivering Sport England's Strategy 2008-11, which aims to get more people into sport and to develop talented individuals.

Jennie Price, chief executive of Sport England, said: "We have attracted a key player from one of sport's largest governing bodies to join Sport England. Phil's knowledge and experience will be a great asset as we put NGBs at the heart of delivering our new strategy for community sport.

"Combined with Lisa's excellent track record within Sport England and the experience she has already gained of leading our new commissioning process for NGBs, I am confident that they offer the best blend of skills for this key area of our work."