Oxford united FC
Oxford United Women captain wins Football Black List award
Bedeau received the award thanks to her work with charity ‘Beat The Block’ which aims to empower girls and young women from underrepresented backgrounds.
The 24-year-old centre back joined the U’s last summer from Nottingham Forest and was quickly voted club captain ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Founder and CEO of ‘Beat The Block’ which began only last year, Bedeau is also a patron of ‘Show Racism the Red Card’.
Describing the circumstances and reacting to receiving the reward, the Grenada international said: “There is an organisation called the Football Black List which was founded by Rodney Hinds and Leon Mann MBE, two incredible black men, with the aim of shining a light on the work people do in football and particularly those in grass roots communities.
Naomi Bedeau reacts to winning the Players – Off The Pitch award and tells us about what the @FootieBlackList awards represent pic.twitter.com/vhnZUanlsT — Oxford United Women (@OfficialOUWFC) March 24, 2026
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“They go out and do awards in certain communities and areas, and they have a national award which celebrates black people within football.
“To see the other people that have won the awards as well, I’m like…wow.
“To be named in the category of those football and…in such a short amount of time with starting Beat the Block, I’m very grateful to be nominated, to be voted for, and the awards are next month so I’m looking forward to that.”