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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
PA Media and Guardian sport

Lydia Bedford blazes trail for women as new Brentford Under-18s head coach

Lydia Bedford as the Leicester City Women manager at a training session in 2021
Lydia Bedford is believed to be the first woman to take charge of a Premier League Under-18s boys’ team. Photograph: Plumb Images/Leicester City/Getty Images

Lydia Bedford has been announced as Brentford Under-18s head coach in a landmark appointment. She has left her position as an assistant coach with Arsenal Women and is believed to be the first woman to take charge of a Premier League under-18s boys’ team.

The announcement on Brentford’s website said that Bedford, a former manager of Leicester Women, will work alongside Jon-Paul Pittman, who will join from Forest Green as assistant coach. Brentford’s director of football, Phil Giles, said: “We undertook an extensive recruitment process for these roles. Lydia and Jon-Paul were the two best candidates.”

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