Oxford United Women’s Captain, Naomi Bedeau, delivered a powerful workshop to Oxfordshire school pupils, as she aims to inspire the next generation of young girls into sport.
Visiting a class at St Mary’s Primary School in Banbury, the Grenada international presented an identity workshop, challenging the girls to discover more about themselves and their classmates through a series of interactive and thought-provoking tasks.
Naomi recently set up the non-profit organisation Beat the Block with the objective of empowering girls and young women from underrepresented backgrounds through education, exposure and sport.
Working in partnership with Oxford United in the Community, the identity workshop was one of six planned as part of the Breakthrough Project at Beat the Block. The series of workshops aim to address the internal and external blocks that prevent girls from accessing sport and reaching their full potential.
Naomi said: “I think it was a very new task for the children to think about themselves and what identity means to them.
“Some of them didn’t know what identity meant and today’s workshop has helped them think about what is important to them.”
The 25-year-old joined Oxford United in the summer from Nottingham Forest, and recently scored on her international debut for Grenada in a World Cup Qualifying match against Costa Rica.
Kelly Bullard, a teacher at St Mary’s Primary School, spoke on the importance of Naomi’s visit.
She said: “I think it’s brilliant for our girls. It isn’t so easy for girls to get into football, particularly around here where there aren’t as many football teams.
“To have a women’s footballer come in is really empowering for our girls and provides a role model figure for them.”
To find out more about Naomi’s fantastic work with Beat the Block, visit HERE.
