AFC Bournemouth

AFC Bournemouth is a professional football club situated in the South of England. The club famously known as “The Cherries” currently competes in the Premier League (2022-23) after finishing as runners-up in the EFL Championship. The club ended the 2021-22 campaign with 88 points, three shy of winning the competition outright. The combination of having the league’s best defence and 29 goals from frontman Dominic Solanke nearly brought AFC Bournemouth their second EFL Championship title.

Since 1910, the club has played their home matches at Dean Court, currently known as Vitality Stadium for sponsorship purposes. With a capacity of just under 12,000, Dean Court is relatively small for a Premier League club. However, its ability to attract both passionate and friendly fans helps create one of the best atmospheres in English football. In July 2017, the club confirmed it was looking to build a new stadium near the current site in Kings Park. However, there has yet to be any development.

It was founded in 1899 as Boscombe Football Club under the club’s first president Mr JC Nutt. In the initial years, the club played in junior leagues until 1905-06 when Boscombe qualified for senior amateur football. In 1910, the club was granted a long lease over land next to Kings Park to be used as the club’s football ground, named Dean Court after the benefactor. From this the club continued to thrive and dominate the local football scene. In the 1913-14 season for the first time, the club would compete in the FA Cup. However, the club’s progress was halted due to the events of World War 1. After finishing as runners-up in the Southern League in 1922-23, the Cherries joined the Football League the following season.

In 1971, the club went through something of a revamp, adopting AFC Bournemouth as their team name with the intention that the club would appear first in alphabetical lists of English clubs. The following year, a new badge and kit were introduced as a symbol of the club’s growing stature with the current red and black we see today being based on the AC Milan strip. The club enjoyed some success in the early 1980s, winning promotion to the third tier for only the second time in its history. However, the club was hit hard in 2008. Facing administration and with debts of around £4 million, AFC Bournemouth almost went out of business. With the club in decline and fighting for Football League survival, former player Eddie Howe took over as manager with the team in the lower reaches of the basement division. Howe guided them to the Greatest Escape, with a 2-1 win over Grimsby Town in their final home game of 2008-09 guaranteeing safety and sparking wild scenes at Dean Court.

Under the leadership of former England international Scott Parker, AFC Bournemouth are back in the top flight of English Football. With the league as competitive as ever, AFC Bournemouth will be aiming to build on their previous Premier League campaigns and create league stability so when ready they can improve on their historic ninth place finish in 2016-17.