Real Bedford men and women promoted in same weekend

Real Bedford won the South Midlands League Division One and Premier Division titles in the previous two seasons

Real Bedford are celebrating a double promotion while talks continue about a possible merger with the town's other Southern League club.

The men's team clinched the Division One Central title with a 1-0 home win over Kings Langley on Saturday, courtesy of Joe Evans' first-half penalty.

The game was watched by cryptocurrency investor twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who have invested about £3.6m in the club.

And on Sunday, the women's team secured promotion from WNL Division One South East with an emphatic 11-1 win over London Seaward as Sofia Stovold and Abbie Bensted both scored hat-tricks.

Owner Peter McCormack bought the former Bedford FC in 2021 and changed the name to Real Bedford at the end of that season.

He wants the town to have a club in the English Football League, and ultimately the Premier League.

The men's team have now won three successive promotions under boss Rob Sinclair, but which league they will play in next season is still up in the air as talks about a possible merger with Bedford Town continue.

Town, who were originally founded in 1908, are currently three points clear at the top of Southern League Premier Central, the division Real would most likely be in next season if they did not become a single entity.

McCormack told BBC Sport on Monday that there was nothing new on the merger situation.

But following Saturday's win, he said: "You create a project, you say you want to get a team in the Football League, and you know you've got to do six promotions - that was the goal.

"To do three back to back is incredible, quite overwhelming. But then it's 'OK, how do we do a fourth?'"

The bitcoin podcaster told the club's social media channels he was delighted to have the Winkelvoss twins among the 1,426 crowd at the Eyrie.

"For them to see us win a championship, see what it means for the town, for the people and be part of the moment, it helps them understand it," he said.

"When they're in America and I'm explaining it, they kind of get it but when you're here and experience it, you know what it's about. It's going to help getting them more embedded in the project."

It was announced last week that the first Universal theme park in the UK is to be built on the site of a former brickworks near Bedford and McCormack believes it has the chance to be the fastest growing town in the country.

"It's just a very cool time to be a Bedfordian," he added.