BUDDING Premier League footballers will soon be taking to the pitch in Wimborne due to a deal between the town’s football club and high-flying AFC Bournemouth.
Wimborne Town FC’s The New Cuthbury home is set to host most of the Premier League outfit’s Academy side’s home games after an agreement was reached between the two clubs covering this season and the 2024/25 programme.
As part of the deal, fans will be able to watch the academy games for free at the Wimborne ground.
“The new partnership with the AFC Bournemouth Academy is an incredibly exciting one,” said Lee Merrifield, finance director at Wimborne Town.
“Hosting the AFCB Academy team here will bring a number of significant benefits for Wimborne Town – it will provide an opportunity for our own academy players to learn from a professional set up, as well as cementing our growing relationship with the club in terms of providing opportunities to up and coming AFCB players as part of our first team squad, while we’re also looking forward to welcoming more AFC Bournemouth fans to our ground.
“These are exciting times for both clubs and I’d like to thank Jimmy Glass, general manager at Wimborne Town, together with Sam Gisborne and the team at AFC Bournemouth for making this happen.”
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AFC Bournemouth’s development squad, currently in the U21s Professional Development League, will play the majority of their home league and cup ties at Wimborne, while the new partnership will see the clubs offer the opportunity for fans to watch all AFC Bournemouth Academy matches at the ground free of charge for the remainder of this season.
“We’re delighted to have the development squad playing at The New Cuthbury for the next two seasons, and we’re grateful to Wimborne Town to be hosting us,” said AFC Bournemouth Academy manager, Sam Gisborne.
“It’s a great facility, and with free entry for everybody this season, we’d love to see our supporters come down to enjoy the matches.”
Click here for more information on the AFC Bournemouth’s Academy team and their fixtures.
What’s the fixgures for this season
You can find their fixture list on their websites. Most upcoming fixtures are also usually posted on their Facebook pages.