The Calgary Wild has confirmed the appointment of Lydia Bedford as the club’s first head coach.
The Athletic reported on Thursday Bedford was set to leave her role with Brentford Under-18s to take the job at the newly-formed Northern Super League (NSL) side.
She will combine duties for both clubs during January before the NSL, Canada’s first professional women’s football league, begins its inaugural season in April.
“From the moment I met and spoke with the staff who are driving the Calgary Wild FC project, I felt their infectious energy and could see right away the passion and care they have for bringing a professional women’s team to Calgary and wanted to be a part of it,” said Bedford, who the club says has family in the Calgary area.
“I have been fortunate to visit Canada as a teenager and as an adult, and I fell in love with the people and the scenery. I have really special memories of spending time with family in Canada, and it has always been a place where I wanted to live.”
Bedford has worked in Brentford’s youth setup since May 2023, with her appointment at the time considered a major step for women’s coaching in the men’s game. She was one of only a handful of female coaches to hold a role in the men’s setup at an English club.
The job is the 37-year-old’s first senior head coach role since her time at Leicester between 2021 and 2022, where she helped the club avoid relegation from the Women’s Super League in 2021-22 before being sacked the following season. She has also previously worked on the coaching staff at Arsenal Women and in the England Women’s youth setup.
“Lydia is a trailblazer for women’s professional football, and a community role model with exceptional communications skills who brings a strong, technical football mind, and a people-first leadership style,” said Lara Murphy, chief executive officer at Calgary Wild.
“We are thrilled to have her back in women’s football to help lead the charge of this powerful movement that is building around Alberta’s first professional women’s sports team.”
(David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
