Bournemouth

If you just started paying attention to the Premier League in the last few years, you might have noticed Bournemouth and thought, Where’s that? and Gosh, that’s a small stadium. What you would be missing is that this little club came from almost out of business to get into the top division in 2015, thus becoming a model for small clubs with big ambitions.

They started as Boscombe FC around 1900 and moved into the current location in 1910. They made the Football League in 1923 and eventually settled in as a Third Division team. In fact, they hold the record for most time spent in that division. They changed their name to AFC Bournemouth in 1971, and in the 1980s a manager named Harry Redknapp took them to their first lofty heights: a win over the defending champions Manchester United in the FA Cup in 1984. Then Bournemouth went up to the second tier in 1987.

Almost inevitably, financial troubles came, and Redknapp left. So did his replacement, Tony Pulis both of whom found much success elsewhere. By the end of the ’80s, they were back in the third tier. A few years later, they were in free fall. They struggled in the fourth tier, were continuously on the verge of bankruptcy, and were docked points by the league for not managing their finances correctly.

In the 2008-09 season they were at the bottom of League Two, 10 points from safety and under the youngest manager in league history, 31-year-old former player Eddie Howe. They stayed in the Football League that year with a 2-1 win over Grimsby Town on the last day; Steve Fletcher scored a goal in that game with 10 minutes to go. Finances were so grim, they were passing cans around the ground, and everybody agreed that Fletcher’s goal had saved their very existence.

Howe turned out to be a wonderful manager, and a wealthy owner came in. The combination got them to the third tier in Howe’s first season. But in 2012 Howe got them to the Championship that season. Just two seasons later, they won the Championship and made the top flight for the first time. They finished as high as ninth in 2016–17 before the magic ran out; they were relegated in 2020 after finishing 18th, and the next day Howe resigned. He’s off at Newcastle United now, but Bournemouth finished second in the Championship in 2022, putting them back in the big time.

2024–25 SEASON: 9th in Premier League, Quarterfinals FA Cup, 2nd Round League Cup

2025–26 SEASON: Premier League (promoted in 2022)

Asked about rivalries before a game, a steward told us they used to have rivals in the area, but they’d left them all behind. Then he added, “Honestly, we’re just living the dream, punching way above our weight, and we don’t have a problem with anybody!” You would think that fellow South Coast clubs like Southampton and Brighton would qualify, but apparently not.

Last season, Bournemouth Women won Division One South West (tier 4) of Women’s National League, so this year they are in the Premier Division at tier 3. Home games are at Ringwood Community Hub.

They like to sing “Keep the Red Flag Flying High from Dean Court to Wembley.” They also do a cool old-fashioned tribute to their former selves with a simple “Boscombe—Back of the Net!”

The Vitality Stadium, named after a sponsorship deal with an insurance company, was called Dean Court until Bournemouth made the Premier League. It is tiny—like, 11,300 seats tiny. The new stadium was thrown together in 2001 in a matter of months, and when the club made the Championship in 2013, they built a temporary stand in one end. It’s still there.

The away fans will be in the south end of the East Stand, so if you have any choice in the matter, sit in the south part of the West Stand or east part of the South Stand to be close to them.

TOURS: No tours are available at this stadium.

GETTING THERE: The main rail station in town is about a 30-minute walk or about a £10 cab ride. You can also take the P2 or P3 Yellow Bus for six stops to Queens Park Hotel. It’s a five-minute walk from there. Or just get a cab and make sure you have their number for postgame, especially if you’re staying closer to the center of town.

PUBS: There is one at the stadium, but the best option around is the Queens Park Hotel on Holdenhurst Road; you’ll pass it if you walk to the stadium. Along that same walk, you’ll also pass the smaller and hipper Firkin Shed.

GRUB: There is really nothing around the ground at all; eat in town before you head out. As a posh resort town, it’s got some pretty good options.

AROUND TOWN: Bournemouth the city was founded fairly recently, by British standards, as a resort town catering to the upper classes. As such, it’s not really on the foreign tourist route, but it is a lovely place to spend some time. It’s only a couple hundred years old and remains largely upscale and peaceful today, with a long sandy beach, a nice pier, beautiful gardens, stately homes, and access to a wild stretch of coast called the Jurassic Coast.

It’s in Dorset, which is of note because it’s the only part of England where people pronounce the letter r. So when somebody from Dorset says “Dorset,” you know they’re from Dorset. Sort of like when a person from Minnesota says “Minnesota.”

Take the Hop-On Hop-Off tour bus along the coast to the village of Poole, which is touristy but in a kind of old-fashioned way: the waterfront has pubs and chippies and ice-cream places, and tour boats leaving for harbor cruises. Get a combo bus/boat ticket so you can ride the boat out to the village of Swanage. Along the way, you’ll see fabulous chalk cliffs, which are not only in Dover.

Swanage is a nice little village on its own, with the hundred-mile-long South West Coast Path passing through and a little downtown with shops and places to eat. Follow the Coast Path up an obvious grassy slope near the harbor for a wonderful view.

Lucky Boy: Seeing a Game at AFC Bournemouth

All I wanted for my 51st birthday in 2017 was a ticket to see a game at AFC Bournemouth. You might not think that’s a hard thing to get. In fact, assuming you’re American, there’s a decent chance you only...

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