Real Bedford Football Club is a
football club based in
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Established in 2002 as a merger of Bedford United and US Valerio, the club are currently members of the and play at McMullen Park. They are affiliated to the
Bedfordshire County Football Association.
History
Bedford United
Bedford United were established in 1957, the
works team
A works team (sometimes factory team, company team) is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business. Sometimes, works teams contain or are entirely made up of employees of the supporting company.
Association footb ...
of the printing firm Diemer & Reynolds.
[About us]
Bedford F.C. In 1971 the club joined Division Three of the
United Counties League
The United Counties League (also known after its sponsor as the ''Uhlsport United Counties League'') is an English football league covering Northamptonshire, Rutland and Bedfordshire and most of Leicestershire as well as parts of Buckinghamshi ...
, which was renamed Division Two the following season. They remained in Division Two until leaving the league in 1979,
dropping into the
Bedfordshire County League, going on to win Division One in 1979–80. In 1989 they joined Division One of the
South Midlands League
The South Midlands League was a football league covering Bedfordshire and some adjoining counties in England. It was founded in 1922 as the Bedfordshire County League and merged with the Spartan League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midland ...
, becoming a member of the Senior Division following league reorganisation in 1993.
[ In 1995–96 they finished third in the division, earning promotion to the Premier Division.][
In 1997 the South Midlands League merged with the Spartan League to form the Spartan South Midlands League, with Bedford United placed in the Premier Division North.][ After finishing fourteenth in the division in the league's first season, they were placed in the Senior Division the following season.][ A third-place finish in 1999–2000 saw them promoted to the Premier Division.][
]
US Valerio
Unione Sportiva Valerio was formed as a Sunday league club in 1985 and was named after its founder Nicola Valerio.[
]
Merged club
The two clubs merged in 2002 to form Bedford United & Valerio, taking Bedford United's place in the Premier Division of the Spartan South Midlands League.[ In 2006 they were renamed Bedford Valerio United, before being renamed simply Bedford in 2007.]Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
. The club's name was changed to Real Bedford prior to the 2022–23 season.
Ground
Bedford United initially played on a pitch at the printers' firm, before moving to the nearby village of Cople and then returning to Bedford to play at Allen Park.[ They subsequently played at Fairhill on Clapham Road,][ where the club's record attendance of 1,500 was set for a South Midlands League match against Bedford Town.][Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p766 ]
The land was later bought by Sainsbury's and Bedford United temporarily groundshared with Kempston Rovers at Hillgrounds, before moving to McMullen Park in 1996.[ The ground was named for Jim McMullen, one of the club's founders.][ When the merged club was formed, they continued to play at McMullen Park.
]
Honours
*Bedfordshire Senior Trophy
**Winners 2012–13Senior Trophy finals 2002–2013
Bedfordshire FA
Records
*Best FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
performance: Preliminary round, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2007–08[
*Best FA Vase performance: Second round, 2006–07, 2009–10][
]
See also
* Real Bedford F.C. players
References
External links
*
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Association football clubs established in 2002
2002 establishments in England
Football clubs in Bedfordshire
Football clubs in England
Sport in Bedford
Spartan South Midlands Football League
Works association football teams in England