Calgary Wild FC hires Australia's Leah Blayney as new head coach

Calgary Wild FC have hired former Australian midfielder Leah Blayney as the soccer club's new head coach.

The 40-year-old from Katoomba, Australia, was most recently an assistant coach of the Japanese women's team.

Lydia Bedford, who coached the Wild to a 9-14-2 record in the Northern Super League's inaugural season, departed earlier this year to coach England's under-23 team.

Assistant Sinead McSharry served as interim coach with the Wild starting this season 0-7-2.

Blayney played 16 career games for Australia's Matildas and also professionally for Boston in the National Women's Soccer League before starting her coaching career with Australia's under-20 women's team.

Wild FC hired a firm to search for a replacement for Bedford and attracted more than 100 candidates, the club said Monday in a statement.

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Blayney will join Wild FC this week before Saturday's home match against defending NSL champion Vancouver Rise.

"Leah is a respected and progressive coach in the women's game," Wild chief executive officer Lara Murphy said in a statement.

"Her experience at the highest levels of international football, her proven ability to develop players, and her commitment to building high-performance environments made her the clear choice to lead Calgary Wild FC into its next chapter."

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As an assistant coach, Blayney helped navigate Japan to an AFC Women's Asian Cup title this year, a 2025 SheBelieves Cup championship and qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

"This opportunity stands out for me because