Bedfordshire County Football League

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Bedfordshire County Football League
BFL Shield.png
Country  England
Founded 1904
Divisions 5
Number of teams 65
Level on pyramid Levels 11–15
Feeder to
Promotion to
Relegation to Luton District & South Bedfordshire League
Domestic cup(s)
  • Britannia Cup
  • Centenary Cup
  • Jubilee Cup
  • Watson Shield
Current champions Renhold United
(2014-15)
Website Official website

The Bedfordshire County Football League (formed as the Bedford & District League in 1904), is an English football competition for clubs in and close to the county of Bedfordshire.[1] It has run with five divisions (four in the 2014–15 season) and is headed by the Premier Division, which is at step 7 (or level 11) of the National League System. The top club in the league may apply for promotion to the United Counties League Division One or the Spartan South Midlands League Division One.

In the 2014–15 season, Renhold United were the Premier Division champions.

The league runs separate league cups for each division – the Premier Division clubs play for the Britannia Cup, Division One clubs play for the Centenary Cup, Division Two sides compete for the Jubilee Cup, while Division Three teams play in the Watson Shield.

The league is affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association.

Recent divisional Champions

The overall League Champions were awarded the Jubilee Challenge Cup until 1993, when that cup was retired and replaced by the Premier Cup.[2]

Season Premier Division Division One Division Two Division Three Division Four Division Five
2000–01 Caldecote Campton Cranfield United North Park Rangers Reserves Blunham Village Bedford Sports Athletic Reserves
2001–02 Caldecote Elstow Abbey Golden Lion Milton Keynes Wanderers Oakley Sports Reserves Westoning Reserves

In 2002, Divisions Three, Four and Five were merged into two new divisions, Associate Division One and Associate Division Two

Season Premier Division Division One Division Two Associate D1 Associate D2
2002–03 North Park Rangers Golden Lion Flitwick Town Dunton Reserves Meltis Sports
2003–04 Elstow Abbey Turvey Biggleswade United 'A' Elstow Abbey Reserves Ickwell & Old Warden Reserves
2004–05 Caldecote Three Horseshoes Renhold Denbigh Hall S&S Bletchley Bedford Sports Athletic Reserves Woburn Reserves
2005–06 Caldecote Henlow Marston Social Caldecote Reserves Exel United

After the 2005–06 season, the league changed its name to the Bedfordshire Football League. Along with the name change, the league reorganized its five divisions by incorporating the two primarily reserve divisions (Associate Division One and Two) into the three first team divisions, ultimately creating three divisions of 16 clubs and a bottom division of 17 clubs.

Season Premier Division Division One Division Two Division Three
2006–07 Westoning Recreation Club Meltis Corinthians Westoning Recreation Club Reserves Ickwell & Old Warden Reserves
2007–08 Campton Bedford Sports Athletic Bedford College Kings
2008–09 Caldecote Westoning Recreation Club Blunham Reserves Leighton United

The league reorganised itself again in 2009, extending its name to Bedfordshire County Football League and adding a fifth division, Division Four. The Premier Division now included 16 clubs, while 14 teams competed Divisions One, Two and Three and the new Division Four comprised 13 clubs.

Season Premier Division Division One Division Two Division Three Division Four
2009–10 Blunham Flitwick Town Potton Wanderers Queens Park Crescents Sharnbrook Reserves
2010–11 Blunham Bedford Hatters Lea Sports PSG Sharnbrook Reserves AFC Turvey
2011–12 Shefford Town & Campton Ickwell & Old Warden Elstow Abbey Cranfield United Reserves Bedford Park Rangers
2012–13 Caldecote Leighton United Goldington Westoning Reserves Bedford Panthers
2013–14 AFC Oakley Sports M&DH AFC Turvey AFC Oakley Sports M&DH Reserves Meltis Albion Meltis Albion Reserves

The league crowned only four divisional champions in 15 and returned with one more division from the 2015–16 season.

Season Premier Division Division One Division Two Division Three
2014–15 Renhold United Cranfield United Stevington Cranfield United Reserves

Member Clubs (2015–16)

The league has 65 member clubs for the 2015–16 season, organised into five divisions (Premier, One, Two, Three and Four) and distributed as follows:

Other Bedfordshire Leagues

Main index: Affiliated Leagues in Bedfordshire
There are a number of other leagues that are affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association.

References

Bibliography
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Notes
  1. Bedfordshire Football League Handbook 2007–08, p. 6
  2. Bedfordshire Football League Handbook 2007–08, pp. 36–41

External links

  1. REDIRECT Template:Men's football in England