Liverpool honour Matt Beard with Melwood memorial garden and Anfield tree

Liverpool have unveiled two permanent tributes to former women's team manager Matt Beard, with a memorial garden at Melwood and a commemorative tree outside Anfield. BBC Sport reported that players, staff and members of Beard's family attended a private ceremony at the training ground on Friday, when the garden bearing his name was unveiled.

Watch the highlights:

The tree has been planted on 97 Avenue outside Anfield, giving the club a second location at which to honour the coach. Beard died on 20 September 2025, aged 47. The unveiling comes ahead of the first anniversary of his death and recognises a manager who led Liverpool Women during two separate spells, from 2012 to 2015 and from 2021 to 2025.

His first period in charge brought consecutive Women's Super League championships in 2013 and 2014. During his second spell, Liverpool won the FA Women's Championship in 2022 to secure a return to the WSL. Beard was named the WSL's manager of the season twice and was inducted into the league's Hall of Fame earlier this year.

The memorials were unveiled before a weekend that also includes suicide-prevention awareness activity at the club. Liverpool's men's Premier League home match against Fulham on Saturday will be dedicated to the league's Together Against Suicide initiative. The campaign runs from 4 to 14 September, promoting conversations about prevention, highlighting available support and seeking to reduce the stigma associated with asking for help.

Supporters are also planning a fundraising walk before Liverpool Women's WSL meeting with Tottenham on Sunday. The group will travel on foot from Melwood to the Brewdog Stadium in St Helens, the women's team's home ground, to raise money for Andy's Man Club, a men's suicide-prevention charity. BBC Sport reported the walk alongside the club's unveiling of the permanent tributes.

The Liverpool FC Foundation's existing support provision includes its Kicking Off Conversations Hub, launched last September to offer fans specialist assistance. This weekend's match dedication and supporter fundraising sit alongside that resource, while the newly unveiled garden and tree provide lasting memorials to Beard at two of the club's sites.