Bedford Town

Bedford Town go into this campaign in the National League North, having won the Southern League Premier Division Central in 2024–25.

The rise back up the pyramid says something about a club that supporters put back together on 5 May 1989, after the original Bedford Town, formed in 1908, folded in 1982 when the lease at Queens Park fell through along with plans for a new stadium at Barkers Lane. Between 1955 and 1975 the club applied for election to the Football League eighteen times and was turned down on every occasion, knocking out Watford, Norwich City and Newcastle United, and in 1965–66 taking Everton to a fourth-round tie that drew 18,407 through the gates at Queens Park, still the club's record attendance, before going down 3–0.

Since 1993 they have played at The New Eyrie in Cardington, a tighter ground holding 3,000 with 300 seated, a long way down from what Queens Park once held on a big cup night. The nickname, The Eagles, comes from the bird on Bedford's coat of arms, and Real Bedford provide the needle for the Bedford derby.

Craig Mackail-Smith wore the shirt between 2020 and 2023, adding a name with Football League pedigree to the squad, while George Thorne has remained on the books since 2022. A first season back in the National League North now asks whether the promotion was a peak or a foothold.