The Calgary Wild FC have named their new head coach, and she brings with her experience in the English Premier League.

Lydia Bedford will be the club’s first head coach as they continue to build their entry into the newly created Northern Super League, which begins play this year. Bedford was the first woman to ever hold a coaching position with an English Premier League club, doing so with the Brentford men’s under-18 club since 2023.

“I’ve always loved Canada. I was lucky to come out three times as a teenager, more to the East Coast, and a couple of years ago, I visited Vancouver and toured all around and actually just came to Calgary to fly back again,” Bedford told reporters at a news conference on Jan. 3.

“I love the country and the people, so it was just a really exciting opportunity to come and live in a completely different place and be the start of something really be the start of something really special.”

Bedford led the Brentford under-18 men’s team to a league championship in her first season and hopes to bring the same success to the pitch in Calgary.

“I want to be a coach that progresses in the women’s game, and I want to be renowned for what I achieve in the teams that I work with,” she said.

“This provides me with a great platform to come in and start with a team at the beginning of its journey where it’s like a level playing field.”

Bedford said it was important for the fans to come along on the team’s journey this inaugural season. She said she wanted it to be exciting to come and watch the club.

“I think the style of football will evolve,” she said.  

“I keep saying that how we play maybe at the start the season shouldn’t look how we play in game 20 to 25 towards the end, because it’s a build project, and we’re going to take the group in and see what our strengths are.”

Passion for what’s being built

Bedford said one of the most attractive things about coming to Calgary was the passion of the leadership group and how determined they were to build the women’s game in the city.

“From the moment I spoke to them and saw their passion for what we’re building, it made me excited to come and be part of it,” she said.

The longtime coach has also been tied to the women’s game. She worked with England’s under-19 team at the European Championships, and the under-17 team at the Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic.  She also spent time as an assistant coach with Arsenal’s women’s team, and as the head coach of Leicester City in 2021/2022.

While she had the chance to continue growing in the men’s Premier League, Bedford said that wasn’t her long-term aspiration.

“My heart’s always been women’s football, and although I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to be at Brentford, and it’s a fantastic club with great people, there’s always been a yearning to come back to the women’s game,” she said.

Lara Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of the Calgary Wild FC, said they took advantage of a gap in Bedford’s schedule to bring her to the city to be introduced to Calgary.

“We’re thrilled to be able to introduce you this morning to a true trailblazer in women’s football as our first head coach,” Murphy said.

Bedford’s upcoming tasks will be to meet with team members in advance of their arrival in Calgary in February. So far, the Wild FC have signed nine players to the team.

The team will begin play in the spring of 2025.

• with files from Aryn Toombs