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The Women in Football and Xero Small Business Programme 2026: Meet Ivi and Naomi
16 April 2026
The Women in Football and Xero Small Business Programme is half way through its third season. It’s time to meet our next two featured entrepreneurs and celebrate the fantastic impact their companies are making.
The programme offers a package of mentoring, networking and expert advice which has already proved transformational for many female-led enterprises, and these aspiring businesswomen are next up to receive a boost.
Ivi Casagrande
Company name: Casagrande Coaching
Company established: 2023
Employees: I work with two consultants on an ongoing basis who support delivery, strategy, and programme development.
What does the company do? Casagrande Coaching is a consultancy and education platform focused on developing female-centric, whole-systems performance environments in sport. The work supports coaches, clubs, and organisations to move beyond content-heavy education and instead design environments that shape behaviour, learning, wellbeing, and long-term development. This includes coach education, applied consultancy, mentoring, and the Casagrande Coaching Academy.
Describe yourself: I’m a high-performance coach, educator, and founder of Casagrande Coaching. My work centres on environment design, reflective practice, and long-term coach development in women’s sport. I bring together performance science, lived experience, and systems thinking to support sustainable, human-centred performance environments.
Background connection to football: I’ve worked in women’s football across grassroots, academy, club, and international environments, including roles with national teams and professional clubs. I am also a former player, playing professionally in Brazil and in America as a Division 1 student-athlete at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. I’m also a coach educator and have contributed to UEFA, FIFA, and international coach development programmes, bringing applied experience into education and system design.
Why did you want to join the programme and what are you hoping to gain? I joined the programme to strengthen the business foundations of Casagrande Coaching and ensure long-term sustainability. I’m particularly keen to develop clearer financial structures, scalable models, and governance processes that support growth while staying aligned with the values and purpose of the work.
What have you benefitted most from being a WIF member? The Women in Football network has provided meaningful connection, visibility, and support within the women’s game. Being part of a community that understands the realities of working in football particularly as a woman building something independently has been invaluable for confidence, learning, and collaboration.
Connect with Ivi on LinkedIn here.
Naomi Bedeau
Company name: Beat the Block CIC
Company established: November 2025
Employees: No paid employees
What does the company do? My company supports underrepresented women and girls to self-actualise through education, exposure and sport.
Describe yourself: I am a professional international footballer for Oxford United and Grenada, a mathematician, and a passionate advocate for equity and social impact. Through my company, advisory role with Usborne Books, and as a patron of Show Racism the Red Card, I champion inclusion and education, combining sport, academics, and activism.
Background connection to football: I am a professional footballer currently playing for Oxford United and representing the Grenada national team internationally. I have previously played for clubs including Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Alongside playing, I coach through my CIC, supporting and developing underrepresented girls in football.
Why did you want to join the programme and what are you hoping to gain? Finding out about networking events that I can attend with other women who work within football outside of just playing. I founded my CIC, Beat the Block, in November 2025 and am in the early stages of development. I want to gain the skills to turn a well-supported idea into a scalable, self-sustaining organisation, with a clear structure to ensure it has a lasting impact on the target community.
What have you benefitted most from being a WIF member? I have benefitted most from the Next Goal programme, which encouraged me to reflect on where my passions lie and how they could translate into a sustainable career beyond football. This process ultimately gave me the confidence to set up my own company and begin building something with long-term purpose.
Connect with Naomi on LinkedIn.
Empower, mentor, succeed
For a third consecutive year, Women in Football and Xero are offering a comprehensive package of support, in a 'game of two halves' format, through the Small Business Programme. The programme provides a culture of belonging and empowerment which offers those taking part the opportunity to connect with other women facing the same daily obstacles.
The first half of the Women in Football and Xero Small Business Programme develops participants' enterprise skills, knowledge and professional networks. While the second half provides one-to-one mentoring by matching up the entrepreneurs with Women in Football members who have already built successful businesses of their own.
Check out some of the highlights and learnings from our previous programmes below.
About Xero
Xero is a cloud-based accounting software platform that connects small business owners with their accountant or bookkeeper, banks and an ecosystem of apps and financial services to help them run their business. Through a range of partnerships, Xero is also aiming to empower and champion women in business and football.
You could get started with Xero today! Try Xero with 90% off for six months when you sign up through the Women in Football affiliate link.
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