Written by
Training Ground Guru
January 2, 2025
Coaching pioneer Lydia Bedford is leaving her role as Brentford Under-18s Lead to become Head Coach of Calgary Wild in Canada’s Women’s Super League.
Bedford became the first female Lead Coach in the men’s Professional Development Phase (PDP) when she took charge of Brentford’s U18s in June 2023. This made her one of the most senior women to have coached at a Premier League club.
Prior to this, Bedford had been Assistant Coach for Arsenal Women and boss of Leicester City Women’s team, as well as working with the England Women’s youth teams.
Calgary Wild are one of six founding members of Canada’s Northern Super League, which is set to launch in April and will be the top tier of women’s football in the country.
Bedford led Brentford U18s at a pivotal time in which they became part of the club’s relaunched Academy, having previously been run by the Community Sports Trust. The team are now in the U18 Professional Development League South and train full-time at the Robert Rowan Performance Centre.
The Bees became the first club to jump two Academy categories when they were promoted from Category Four or Two this summer.
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