The family of former Liverpool boss Matt Beard have invited fans to pay their respects after details of a memorial service were confirmed.
Beard died aged 47 in the Countess of Chester hospital at 9.15pm on Saturday, September 20.
Beard was in charge of Liverpool twice during his 17-year career in women’s football management, winning back-to-back league titles in 2013 and 2014.
He was most recently in charge of Burnley, but resigned after two months in charge.
An outpouring of love towards Beard flowed after news of his death, with many paying tributes to an ‘icon’ of the women’s game, as he was described by Manchester United boss Marc Skinner.
An inquest was opened into Beard’s death on Monday, with a coroner’s court hearing that he had been found hanged at his home in Deeside, Flinshire.
A full inquest will follow at a later date after the hearing in Ruthin, North Wales, was adjourned.
Beard’s son Harry had shared messages paying tribute to his father on social media following his death, while adding ‘suicide is never the answer reach out.’
The former Liverpool manager’s family have now announced details of a memorial service next month, with requests that gestures of remembrance are made through donations to a mental health charity.
‘Matt’s wife and family warmly invite all fans who wish to pay their respects to Matt Beard to attend a special mass at the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, led by Bishop Tom, on Friday 17th October at 10:30am,’ Liverpool FC Women Supporters Club said.
‘Please feel free to wear whatever you are most comfortable in—whether that’s a football shirt or something casual.
‘Instead of flowers, the family kindly ask that any gestures of remembrance be made through donations to a mental health charity.’
The Supporters Club shared that Beard’s family want to support Andy’s Man Club through the service.
Andy’s Man Club is a men’s suicide prevention charity which offers free to attend peer-to-peer support groups across the United Kingdom and online.
The charity states that it wants to end the stigma surrounding men’s mental through and help men through the power of conversation.
A fundraiser organised by broadcaster Jacqui Oatley has raised more than £50,000 to support his family.
Premier League and Women’s Super League clubs have since paid tributes to Beard ahead of their matches.
Liverpool’s women’s team honoured him by singing Matt Beard’s Mighty Reds in the 13th and 14th minutes against Sunderland last week. One banner read: ‘Liverpool was made for Matt and Matt was made for Liverpool.’
Defender Jenna Clark said: ‘In the past few days we’ve also been reminiscing about all the stories of “Beardy” in training and the type of person he was.
‘It has been really difficult, it’s not been a lot of time. A lot of staff and players have been up and down.
‘We remember him so well and there have been some good stories being shared so we’ve had smiles on our faces at times. He would have liked that. We’ll remember him as the happy character he was.’
Former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes describing Beard as a ‘champion of the women’s game’.
The USWNT boss wrote: ‘Can’t quite compute this. Absolutely one of the best humans.
‘Always available for a chat, one of the good guys. A champion in the women’s game and a top bloke. So gutted for his family.’
He began coaching in the women’s game in 2008, and had stints at Chelsea, Millwall Lionesses and West Ham alongside Liverpool.
Chelsea said in a statement that Beard ‘helped shape Chelsea Women’ during his three-year tenure and credited him for ‘laying much of the foundations’ ahead of Hayes replacing him in 2012 before she embarked on a trophy-laden spell.
He went on to win WSL titles in his first spell in charge of Liverpool, between 2012 and 2015. On returning to the club in 2021, he secured promotion back into the top flight in his first season, before guiding them to a fourth-placed finish in his second.
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