Wikipedia - Real Bedford F.C.
Real Bedford Football Club is a football club in Bedford, England, established in 2002 as a merger of Bedford United and US Valerio. They are members of the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division and play at McMullen Park.
History
Bedford United
Bedford United were established in 1957, the works team of the printing firm Diemer & Reynolds. In 1971 the club joined Division Three of the United Counties League, 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, 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. They finished second-from-bottom of the Premier Division in 2004–05 and were relegated to Division One. In 2006 they were renamed Bedford Valerio United, before being renamed simply Bedford in 2007. In 2012–13 the club won the Bedfordshire Senior Trophy. In 2014–15 they finished third in Division One, earning promotion to the Premier Division. However, the club finished bottom of the Premier Division the following season and were relegated back to Division One.
In 2022, the club was taken over by bitcoin podcaster Peter McCormack, who became chairman, having previously stated that he intended for the club to reach the Premier League. The club's name was changed to Real Bedford before the 2022–23 season, which saw them win the Bedfordshire Senior Trophy and the Division One title, earning promotion to the Premier Division. In 2024, American cryptocurrency investors, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss invested $4.5 million into the club. Days after the investment, the club achieved the second of back-to-back promotions, winning the Premier Division title.
O Bedford tem uma longa e rica história no futebol inglês. O clube venceu a Southern League em três ocasiões, em 1904-05, 1906-07 e 1907-08, e também chegou à final da FA Cup em 1903. O clube também competiu na Football League de 1920 a 1962, quando foi rebaixado para a Southern League.
O clube voltou à Football League em 1985 e alcançou a terceira divisão em 1991. O Bedford permaneceu na terceira divisão até 2000, quando foi rebaixado para a quarta divisão. O clube retornou à terceira divisão em 2003 e permaneceu lá até 2007, quando foi rebaixado novamente.
O Bedford voltou à terceira divisão em 2010 e permaneceu lá até 2013, quando foi rebaixado novamente. O clube retornou à terceira divisão em 2016 e, desde então, conseguiu se manter lá.
O Bedford é um clube bem apoiado por seus torcedores e tem uma forte comunidade de torcedores. O clube também é conhecido por sua forte academia de juniores, que produziu muitos jogadores talentosos ao longo dos anos.