CALGARY—The Calgary Wild FC kicked off 2025 by welcoming England’s Lydia Bedford as the club’s first head coach.

“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 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 now has her chance, arriving to the Stampede City from Brentford in West London, England where she was the first woman ever to hold a coaching position at an English Premier League club, leading the Brentford men’s under-18 team since 2023.

“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 that is required to forge a healthy and supportive culture for the Calgary Wild FC on and off the pitch,” said Lara Murphy, chief executive officer, Calgary Wild FC. “She is an accomplished international coach, a proven performer and leader who has delivered results in pressure-packed environments. 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 that encourages inclusivity, empowers young girls, and gives women the platform they deserve to influence positive change in our communities.”

Recognized as a pioneer in the sport internationally while leading the Brentford men’s under-18 team to a league championship title in her first season, Bedford brings nearly two decades of success with her to Calgary as a head coach and manager from the grassroots to elite level of the sport.

“It is an honour to be named the first coach of the Calgary Wild FC in its inaugural season,” added Bedford. “I have always loved being part of a journey, whether giving players their first taste of international football at England or launching Brentford’s new academy programme. There’s something special about being there from the start and it’s certainly going to be an exciting journey here in Calgary.”

Bedford has always remained connected to the women’s game. She spent the past summer supporting England’s under-19 squad at the European Championships and the under-17 team at the Women’s World Cup in Dominican Republic in the fall. Prior to taking the coaching reigns at Brentford, Bedford was an assistant coach with Arsenal Women (2023) where she supported the club as they won the League Cup and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. She took her first senior management role as Head Coach of World Super League team Leicester City during the 2021-22 WSL campaign.

“Having worked as a professional coach for 10 years, I believe that I bring a wealth of experience in women’s football that will help Calgary Wild FC in its foundational years. My time at Leicester and Arsenal, working in the Women’s Super League, allowed me to develop a great understanding of what a professional senior environment needs to look and feel like,” said Bedford, who added that her seven years connected to international football as head coach of England’s U17, U19, U20 and U23 levels has been integral to acquiring the knowledge required to develop young players.

“I see myself as a player developer – both in senior and youth football. I want to see all players in my care thrive and develop on and off the pitch.”

Bedford, who is known as a progressive coach that provides inspirational leadership to drive confident, attacking and flowing football, will bring a simplistic coaching philosophy to the Calgary Wild FC.

“I believe to get the best out of players, you need to know them as individuals. The relationships I build with players is important to the success we have on the pitch. I want to develop players who are great decision-makers on the pitch and will work to provide them freedom within a framework,” she said. “Fans will see a style of football that evolves across the season. We want to play an exciting style of football that is enjoyable to watch. We will be gritty and hard working without the ball and will look to utilize our team strengths on the ball to assert ourselves on the opponent.” 

Bedford will now begin to formulate relationships with Calgary Wild FC players in advance of their arrival into Calgary in February to begin preparations for the Northern Super League’s inaugural season which is scheduled to kick off in Spring 2025. The Calgary Wild FC have announced nine players including Calary’s Sarah Keilty-Dilling, Grace Stordy, and Caleigh Boeckx, along with British Columbia’s Jaclyn Sawicki and Christie Gray.  An impressive lineup of notable international names including: Afghan-Canadian humanitarian Farkhunda Muhtaj and Sonia O’Neill from Toronto, New Zealand’s three-time Olympian Meikayla Moore; and Mijke Roelfsema from The Netherlands.

About Calgary Wild FC

Calgary Wild FC is one off six teams in the newly created Northern Super League which will begin its inaugural season in 2025, featuring some of the best women’s soccer players in the world. Shop our exclusive merch and be one of the early #fansinthewild. For the latest news and information on Calgary Wild FC, visit www.calgarywildfc.com or follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and X.  Follow the league at www.nsl.ca.

For further information:

Chris Dornan
Calgary Wild FC
T: 403-620-8731
E-mail: media@calgarywildfc.com