England Lionesses recruit history-making Lydia Bedford as U23s coach | OneFootball

Lydia Bedford has returned to the England setup as head coach of the Lionesses U23 squad on a permanent deal. She leaves Calgary Wild FC after one season at the helm.

The 38-year-old returns to work under the Football Association with plenty of international experience. She previously managed the England Women’s U15, U16 and U17 squads. During her initial tenure within the Young Lionesses pathway, Bedford also earned her UEFA Pro License.

A history-making club career

During the 2021/22 season, Bedford broke into the Barclays Women’s Super League as head coach of Leicester City, where she earned Manager of the Month honours and successfully helped the Foxes stave off relegation. In 2023, she spent six months as an assistant coach for Arsenal.

Bedford then made history during the 2023/24 season by becoming the first female head coach appointed to a men’s Premier League academy, taking charge of the Brentford U18 team. Having soaked up as much as possible from previous roles, the Brunel University Graduate decided to move to Canada. She took on a head-coaching role in Canada’s Northern Super League, guiding Calgary Wild FC through its inaugural season.

The Young Lionesses coaching setup

Bedford rejoins a highly regarded Young Lionesses coaching pathway alongside the likes of Lauren Smith. While Smith recently stepped in to oversee the U23 and U20 squads, her primary focus remains the U19s. In fact, she just guided the U19 team to a 1-0 victory over France last week, clinching the top spot in their European group and securing a semi-final matchup against Spain.

In a statement released on the FA website, Women’s Technical Director Gavin Step said: “I’m pleased to welcome Lydia back to the FA… The under-23s represent a crucial stage in our pathway… preparing our most talented young players to take the next step at international level… Lydia’s appointment reflects the continued investment being made to create meaningful opportunities within our high-performance environment.”

Bedford added: “I’m so excited to be rejoining the FA and becoming head coach of the WU23s is a huge honour. This is a really talented group of players with enormous potential, and I can’t wait to guide them through such an important stage of their journey and help them push towards the senior Lionesses.”

This move shows a great strategy by the English FA to encourage female managers into the top-flight coaching setup under Sarina Wiegman and enables them to continue training towards UEFA A coaching licences whilst also working with the stars of the future.

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Coming up next

Bedford will hit the ground running as she takes charge of the U23s for the upcoming April international window. She has a pool of proven WSL talent at her disposal, including Manchester City defender Gracie Prior, Everton midfielder Ruby Mace, London City Lionesses forward Isobel Goodwin, and Arsenal forward Jessie Gale (currently lighting up the Women’s Championship on loan at Bristol City).

The U23s will face the Netherlands on Monday, 13th April, before meeting either Sweden or Norway in the final or third-place play-off on Friday, 17th April.

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