50 Fun Facts About AFC Bournemouth

What is AFC Bournemouth's nickname?

It is usually traced to the cherry-red striped shirts, or to cherry trees on the neighbouring Cooper-Dean estate.

Under what name was the club formed in 1899?

It grew out of the remains of the older Boscombe St. John's Institute Football Club.

What is the name of the club's home ground, used since 1910?

It is currently branded the Vitality Stadium for sponsorship reasons.

Which local businessman granted the lease on the wasteland that became the club's ground?

The ground was named after him, and the same year the club signed its first professional.

Who was the club's first professional player, signed in 1910?

Until then the club had been a dominant amateur side on the local scene.

What did the club rename itself in 1923 to better represent the district?

The same year they were elected to the newly expanded Third Division South.

How many straight seasons did the club spend in the third tier's southern section from 1923?

They remain on record as the longest continuous members of the Third Division.

Bournemouth won their first trophy in 1946, beating Walsall in which cup's final?

The final was played at Stamford Bridge.

Why did the club choose the name AFC Bournemouth in 1971?

It kept the 'Athletic Football Club' initials while jumping the queue.

Which European club's strip inspired the red-and-black kit introduced in 1971?

Stripes have been the norm since 1990; a plain red shirt in 2004–06 was reversed by fan demand.

The heading player on the 1972 badge honours which prolific 1950s–60s scorer?

The stripes behind him were taken from the club shirt.

Ted MacDougall scored nine goals in an 11–0 FA Cup win over which club in 1971?

He also holds the club record for goals in a season, 42 in 1970–71.

Which FA Cup holders did Bournemouth famously knock out in January 1984?

Harry Redknapp was the manager.

Who managed Bournemouth to the Third Division title in 1987?

It took the club into the second tier for the first time in its history.

Bournemouth won the first Associate Members' Cup in 1984 by beating which club?

The 2–1 win came at Boothferry Park.

A last-day 1990 defeat to which club relegated Bournemouth and sparked weekend disorder?

The visitors won the title that day; the trouble caused over £1 million of damage.

After the 1990 trouble, police barred home games on what kind of day until 2003?

The ban finally lifted for a game against Shrewsbury Town in April 2003.

Which club did the 1987 title-winning manager rejoin as a coach in 1992?

Financial pressures prompted his resignation after two near-misses for the play-offs.

Which future Stoke boss built a cheaper Bournemouth squad and walked out in 1994?

Two consecutive 17th-place finishes preceded his exit.

Whom did Bournemouth beat 5–2 in the 2003 Division Three play-off final?

They became the first side to score five at the Millennium Stadium.

Whose ground hosted Bournemouth home games during stadium redevelopment in 2001–02?

They were relegated in the new stadium that season but bounced straight back.

How long did James Hayter take to score the fastest hat-trick in Football League history?

He came off the bench with 86 minutes gone in a 6–0 win over Wrexham.

Sean O'Driscoll left Bournemouth in 2006 to manage which club?

Kevin Bond replaced him with the team eighth in the table.

With what points penalty did Bournemouth begin the 2008–09 League Two season?

The Football League had threatened to block them from competing at all.

How old was Eddie Howe when he became the Football League's youngest manager?

He took over with the club ten points adrift at the bottom, initially as caretaker.

Which club did Bournemouth beat 2–1 to secure the 2009 'Great Escape'?

Steve Fletcher scored the winner ten minutes from time.

Eddie Howe left Bournemouth in 2011 to manage which club?

He returned in October 2012 and won two more promotions.

Lee Bradbury's 2011 play-off semi-final ended in a shoot-out defeat to which club?

The two legs finished 3–3 after extra time.

Bournemouth's 8–0 win in October 2014 came away at which club?

It was the first time they had scored eight in a league game.

Where did Bournemouth finish in their first Premier League season, 2015–16?

Star striker Callum Wilson was among a string of injured players.

What was the settled fine for breaching Financial Fair Play rules in the promotion season?

The original fine was £7.6 million; the 2014–15 loss was £38.3 million.

Which defender was signed from Chelsea for a club-record £20 million in 2017?

He had starred on loan the previous season.

What Premier League record did Bournemouth set in the second half of 2017–18?

They took 19 points from behind and finished 12th.

Bournemouth were relegated in 2020 despite a final-day 3–1 win at which ground?

Aston Villa's draw with West Ham sent the Cherries down.

Which club beat Bournemouth 3–2 on aggregate in the 2021 Championship play-off semi-final?

Caretaker-turned-manager Jonathan Woodgate was not retained afterwards.

Which former Fulham manager took Bournemouth up as Championship runners-up in 2022?

His side started 15 games unbeaten and finished on 88 points.

A record-equalling defeat by what score at Anfield got the manager sacked in August 2022?

He was dismissed after only four league games of the season.

Who stepped up from first-team coach to steady the ship as head coach in 2022–23?

He was made permanent after 12 games in interim charge but replaced in June 2023.

Which American businessman leads Black Knight, the group that bought the club in 2022?

He bought it from Maxim Demin with Cannae Holdings.

Which Hollywood actor leads the club's minority ownership group?

Kosmos founder Nullah Sarker is alongside him.

Who was appointed head coach in June 2023?

He delivered three successive record Premier League points totals.

What league position in 2025–26 earned Bournemouth their first European qualification?

A 1–1 draw with Nottingham Forest confirmed a Europa League place.

How many draws in 2025–26 set a record for a 38-game Premier League season?

They also lost only seven times, their fewest in a top-flight season.

Which striker's £65 million move to Tottenham in 2024 is the club's record sale?

The same month Evanilson arrived from Porto for a record £40.2 million.

Who holds the club appearance record with 726 first-team games?

He played from 1992 to 2013 and scored the Great Escape winner in 2009.

Who is the club's record goalscorer with 229 goals between 1924 and 1933?

He managed it in just 337 first-team matches.

Which club did Bournemouth fans name their biggest rival in a 2019 poll?

The feeling is largely one-sided; Southampton fans focus on Portsmouth.

In which county is Bournemouth located?

The ground sits in Kings Park in the suburb of Boscombe.

What is the club's best FA Cup performance?

They reached that stage in 1956–57, 2020–21 and 2024–25.

Who became Bournemouth's first president when the club formed in 1899?

The exact foundation date is unknown, but it was the autumn of 1899.