Woodward spent six years as a player at Welford Road

Woodward will also be accompanied by England's record try scorer and former Leicester winger Rory Underwood.

Woodward, who is the director of elite performance for the British Olympic Association (BOA), will take an advisory role at Welford Road.

"I consider it an honour to be appointed to the board of directors," said the former Tigers player.

Woodward, who spent six years at the club as a centre between 1979 and 1985, is best known for guiding England to glory at the 2003 World Cup before quitting rugby to take a role as a performance director with Southampton Football Club.

Since September 2006 he has been working for the BOA but doubts have been raised about his impact in the role.

606: DEBATE What influence will Woodward have at Welford Road?

Woodward said he has spent the last 12 months learning "what elite sport looks like".

Leicester chief executive Peter Wheeler said it had not been difficult to persuade Woodward to take up a place on the board.

"I think he was anxious to keep some foothold in rugby," Wheeler told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"The sport was a massive part of his life as a player and as a coach and as a former player here, he's always had a strong interest in Leicester."

Wheeler said he expected new coach Marcelo Loffreda, fresh from guiding Argentina to the World Cup semi-finals, to consult Woodward on an ad hoc basis.

"Marcelo was the outstanding head coach of the World Cup and he has executive responsibility for all playing matters," said Wheeler.

"I would expect him to have the odd yarn with Clive because Clive is at the cutting edge of all elite sport and especially preparation."

Underwood scored 134 tries in 236 games for Leicester in addition to 49 tries in 85 internationals for England.

"I look forward to being able to play my part in the club's continued successes on and off the pitch," said Underwood, who now works in management consultancy.

Woodward and Underwood will be joined by Terry Gateley, a Tigers fan and senior partner at accountancy firm KPMG.

The three appointments come after former Leicester players John Allen, Bob Beason and David Matthews announced their retirement as directors.

Tigers chairman Peter Tom said: "Their retirement provides us with an opportunity to revitalise and strengthen the board to meet the new challenges that lie ahead, not least the major plans we have for the redevelopment of Welford Road."