14th April 2024 > > Real Bedford F.C.

tl;dr

The prospect of more Hertfordshire/Bedfordshire rivalry is always welcome.

Market Snap

Market Wrap

Weekend stock markets are holding up surprisingly well in the aftermath of Iran’s attack on Israel yesterday. The Iranian leadership – whose overriding ambition is to “wipe Israel off the face of the map” before presumably dealing with “Little Satan” (UK is a joint holder of this award) and “Great Satan” (US) – has stated the attack has achieved all its objectives, allowing for the possibility of a de-escalation if Israel is willing. Let us hope so, and not just for reasons of crypto price action.

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – Real Bedford F.C.

Real (pronounced in the same way as their more illustrious counterparts based in, ahem, Madrid) Bedford are sitting pretty at the top of the Spartan South Midlands Premier Division, Tier 9 of the 11 tiers in total of the English Football pyramid.

I am slightly conflicted here as Harpenden Town – whom I used to watch as a teenager when Watford weren’t playing at home – are just three places lower in the same division, but with far fewer points this season. Promotion for The Harps can only be via the lottery of a play-off place.

An average crowd of around 400 this season (though packed out with over 1,000 spectators for yesterday’s game against Tring Athletic) and with tickets at under a tenner, income from football activities for Real Bedford is somewhat limited. Which means you might be pleasantly surprised at the standard of football on offer. All home games are live-streamed for free, just make sure you have your VPN turned on and not tuned to the UK:

https://www.realbedford.com/live-stream

Much of the game is played with nice passing moves and little hoofing. Since his arrival in the UK, Pep Guardiola has transformed not just elite football at the global level, but at the grass roots too.

Surprisingly the management team comprises a manager, an assistant manager, a goalkeeper coach, a general coach, a therapist, a kitman, and a further five individuals in back-office roles. Some – not all – of the players look like they might train full-time.

Real Bedford have a stated ambition to be a Premier League club.

How is this even possible?

…

The livestream is sponsored by CoinCorner. The hoardings around the pitch carry names such as Gemini, Luxor, galaxy, Iris Energy, and so on. I think you get the theme.

Bitcoin enthusiast Peter McCormack bought Real Bedford in 2021, and quickly got a sponsorship deal from Gemini, allowing the club to not only take on semi and full-time staff, but it also launched a new women’s team who themselves are promotion candidates in their inaugural season.

But it gets better than that. The Winklevoss twins have just announced a deepening of their relationship with the club with an extraordinary capital injection of £4.5mm to become co-owners. Tyler explains:

“We share in Peter’s deep conviction in bitcoin and its ability to supercharge RBFC’s quest to make it into the Premier League. Since our first conversation more than two years ago, Peter has proven he knows how to build a successful club and we’re excited to work alongside him as co-owners.”

Move over Salford F.C., there is a new underdog in town.