The Club

How It All Began

The Club was born in 1978, when local men Alan Moran and Colin Maxey gathered together a group of boys of mixed ages, united in the desire to play football. Alan's son, Dave, takes up the story:

"The idea was born out of my boredom as a 10 year-old with a football in the garden, getting on dad's nerves. We looked for teams for me to play with, but as I had mates from Parkwood Middle School who also wanted to play, dad said if I could get enough players, he and Colin would start a team."

Once the decision had been made to go it alone, the next task was to come up with a name and decide on the kit colour, which was done using paint pots! For the first year the team played a series of friendlies at Bedford Park, still our main playing venue and, of course, the inspiration for the Club name. The following season saw a team of Under 12s kick off in a local league and the seeds were sown for the strong and far-reaching organisation we are today.

Maureen Preston, a good friend of Alan Moran's, became the first Club secretary, allowing Colin and Alan to focus on the coaching. As word spread and the age groups split, other friends of Alan's became managers of new U12's, and so it went on. A number of BPR players have gone on to play professional football, including England international Andy Johnson, currently playing for Fulham in the Premiership, and Julian Capone (Rushden & Diamonds).

Other names from the professional game who have had a close association with the club include Barry Fry (Director of Football at Peterborough United), Trevor Gould (player with Coventry City and Northampton Town, and manager of Bedford Town), Nick Platnauer (player with Bristol Rovers, Coventry City, Birmingham City and Leicester City, among others, and manager of Bedford Town) and Lil Fuccillo (ex-player and manager of Luton Town), whose brother Claudio was BPR's first-ever goalkeeper.

Our Set Up

These days we have teams playing in the Bedfordshire Mini Soccer League, the Milton Keynes Development League, the Chiltern Youth Football League and the Milton Keynes & Border Counties Youth Football League. In 2009/10, we launched a senior team, to provide a stepping stone into adult football for players reaching the end of their youth careers. Each side enters its own League Cup competition, and from Under 12, teams have the chance to participate in the County Cup as well.

There are also a host of local and regional tournaments that our teams enter. BPR also takes teams of all ages on summer tours, to tournaments all over the UK and there have also been some excellent trips to play in Poland, Holland and Belgium. In 2003 we hosted the first of our own Summer Tournaments, to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Club. It was such a success that this has now become an annual event, and usually takes place over the second weekend of June.