Bedale Association Football Club was officially formed in 1933 although there is evidence of a team called Gas Works Celtic playing in the town before that. The town team played in the grounds of the Beresford Pierse family home of Bedale Park before moving to its present location at Bedale Sports Club (BASA) about half a mile out of town on the road to Leyburn in the early 1970’s. The facilities at BASA have been enhanced with the extension of both changing rooms and the building of a separate dressing room for match officials as well as facilities for disabled players and spectators, partly funded by the Football Foundation.

Bedale Association Football Club received the FA Charter Standard award in July 2007 and together with Bedale Junior Football Club and Bedale High School, this three-way partnership was presented with the FA Community Club Award at a ceremony on the pitch at Port Vale FC before an England U18 International match in June 2005. The three deliverers of football in the Bedale community are proud to have reached this standard. The Junior Football Club opened their Pitch ‘n Pavilion in June 2007, built on land adjacent to the Bedale High School playing fields on Firby Road and Simon Grayson performed the opening ceremony.

Bedale AFC are currently sponsored by Heck Food. Players and officials are warmly invited to enjoy the hospitality offered after every game. The club change kit has attracted a lot of media coverage recently because of its unique Heck sausage design. BBC Look North visited the club and the chairman was interviewed on Smooth Radio, BBC Radio York and nationally on BBC Radio 5Live and the sausage kit also featured in the Sun and Metro nationals as well as the Darlington and Stockton Times and Northern Echo. The club sausage kit even featured on francetvsport with a film crew flying in from Paris to run a story broadcast nationally in France.

We’re the North Riding League Division 1 champions last season and play in the North Riding League Premier division.

Past players who have gone on to play at a higher level include Paul Grayson (Essex CCC), Simon Grayson (Sunderland AFC manager, Preston North End manager, Huddersfield Town manager, Leeds United player and manager, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Notts County, Stockport County, Blackpool), Michael Duff (Burnley, Cheltenham Town and Northern Ireland) and Shane Duff (Cheltenham Town & Northern Ireland U21). It is a measure of the success of the side that the principle people behind the scenes have been with the club for many years;

Adrian Grayson (President, past chairman, secretary and player) 48 years
Martyn Coombs (Chairman/Treasurer, past secretary and player) 40 years