AFC Bournemouth Women

This article is about the women's football club based in England. For the men's team, see AFC Bournemouth. For other teams called Bournemouth, see Bournemouth (disambiguation) § Football.

AFC Bournemouth

Full name	AFC Bournemouth Women [a]
Nickname(s)	The Cherries
Founded	1992;33 years ago (1992) as Bournemouth
Ground	The Ringwood Community Hub
Capacity	1,000 The Ringwood Community Hub
Chairman	Bill Foley
Manager	Steve Cuss
League	FA Women's National League Division One South West
2023–24	FA Women's National League Division One South West, 2nd of 12
Website	https://www.afcb.co.uk/matches/women/
Home colours Away colours

AFC Bournemouth Women ( /ˈbɔːrnməθ/ ^ⓘ BORN-məth), commonly referred to as just Bournemouth, is an English professional women's football club based in Dorset, England. The club plays in the FA Women's National League Division One South West, the fourth tier of English women's football.

In 2022, Bill Foley bought out AFC Bournemouth's women's team which was previously under the Community Sports Trust. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

History

Early history

Bournemouth won the 2003–04 Southern Region Division One. ^[6] The club achieved a league and cup double for the 2005–06 season, winning the Southern Region Premier Division, and beating Slough Town 3–1 in the final of the Southern Region League Cup. ^[7] The club reached the final of the 2007–08 South West Combination League Cup, but were beaten 4–1 by Plymouth Argyle. ^[8] Bournemouth were forced to withdraw from the league due to financial problems, and lack of managerial staff. The club ultimately folded in March 2009. ^[9]

National League

Bournemouth had reformed by 2012, playing in the Hampshire County Football League. The club achieved successive promotions, winning the 2014–15 Hampshire County Division Three, ^[10] and the 2015–16 Hampshire County Division Two. ^[11] Manager Steve Davies left the club in 2019, ^[12] with Bournemouth appointing Steve Cuss as manager ahead of the 2019–20 season. ^[13] The club successfully applied for promotion to the FA Women's National League Division One South West for the 2021–22 season. ^[14] Bournemouth made their competitive debut at Dean Court on 10 April 2022, in a 4–1 win against Chesham United. ^[15]

Stadium

Bournemouth normally play their home games at The Ringwood Community Hub, Ringwood. This is a shared facility with Ringwood Town F.C.

Address : Ringwood Community Hub 155 Long Lane Kingston, Upper Kingston, Ringwood BH24 3BX. ^[16]

The Ringwood Community Hub has undergone a major upgrade to the facilities following an investment of £3.4 million by the New Forest District Council, Ringwood Town Council, Ringwood and District Round Table, AFC Bournemouth Community Sports Trust and the Football Foundation. ^{[17] [18]}

New floodlights have been installed on the main grass pitch. An artificial turf 3G pitch opened in February 2023 and is used for training, or if the main pitch is unavailable. ^[19]

Work started on the new pavilion clubhouse in June 2023. ^[20] The first game AFC Bournemouth Women played using the new pavilion was on Sunday 13 October 2024 against Bishops Lydeard Ladies AFC in the 3rd round qualifying match of the FA Cup. Although the formal opening of the pavilion, by the leader of the New Forest District Council, took place the following month. ^[21]

The old Ringwood Town FC clubhouse has subsequently been demolished.

Since 2022, the club also play select matches at Dean Court:

Date	Opposition	Result	Attendance
10 Apr 2022	Chesham United	W 4-1	1,592 [22]
16 Apr 2023	Maidenhead	D 0-0	3,067 [23]
5 Nov 2023	Portishead Town	W 4-0	6,805 [24]
10 Dec 2023	Charlton Athletic (FA Cup)	L 0-6	1,450 [25]
24 Mar 2024	Keynsham Town	D 1-1	6,162 [26]
10 Nov 2024	Swindon Town	W 4-0	6,054 [27]
23 Mar 2025	Bristol Rovers	W 2-0	7,076 [28]

Current squad

As of 2 March 2025 ^[29]

Most recent squad changes

Olivia Venditto departs by mutual consent. ^[30] Kelly Fripp joins Bournemouth Sports WFC for the rest of the season. ^[31]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   ENG Katie Scadding 2 DF   ENG Abby Jones(Captain) 4 DF   WAL Helen Bleazard 5 DF   ENG Holly Humphreys 6 MF   ENG Maisy Smith 8 MF   ENG Phoebe Williams 9 FW   ENG Eloise Hall (dual registration with Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women [32] [33] 10 MF   ENG Molly Barron-Clark 11 FW   IRL Gemma McGuinness 12 GK   POL Daniela Kosinska 13 GK   ENG Erin Foley 14 MF   ENG Katie James

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF   ENG Ellie Strippel 19 FW   ENG Alisha Buckingham 20 DF   WAL Caitlin Morris 21 MF   ENG Ali Hall 22 FW   ENG Jenna Markham 23 FW   ENG Chloe Gilroy 24 DF   ENG Kelci Bowers 25 FW   BER Kenni Thompson 26 FW   ENG Erin Bloomfield 27 DF   ENG Amber Treweek 28 DF   ENG Charlotte Harris

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF   ENG Kelly Fripp(On loan at Bournemouth Sports WFC until May 2025)

For a list of all former and current AFC Bournemouth Women players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:AFC Bournemouth Women players.

Management

Current management and coaching staff

As of March 2025 ^[34]

Name	Role
Steve Cuss	Manager

Honours and achievements

League

• Southern Region Premier Division (level 4)
  • Champions: 2005–06
• Southern Region Division One (level 5)
  • Champions: 2003–04
• Hampshire County Division Two (level 8)
  • Champions: 2015–16
• Hampshire County Division Three (level 9)
  • Champions: 2014–15

Cup

• South West Combination League Cup
  • Runners-up: 2007–08
• Southern Region League Cup
  • Winners: 2005–06
• The Chairman's Cup
  • Winners: 2018-19 ^[35]
• The Hampshire Senior Cup
  • Winners: 2022-23, ^[36] 2023-24 ^[37]

League history

Champions

Runners-up

Promoted ↑

Relegated ↓

Season	League									FA Cup	League Cup	Other
	Division	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Pos			Competition	Res
2018–19	Southern Region Premier (5)	18	16	0	2	93	16	48	2nd	R1	PR	The Chairman's Cup The Hampshire Senior Cup	W R2
2019–20	Southern Region Premier (5) [b]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	Q3	-	The Hampshire Senior Cup	R2
2020–21	Southern Region Premier (5) [b]	1	1	0	0	11	0	3	6th	R1	R1	The Subsidiary Cup	SF
2021–22	Division One South West (4)	18	12	4	2	52	14	40	2nd	R2	R1	The Hampshire Senior Cup	RU
2022–23	Division One South West (4)	22	13	4	5	59	21	43	4th	R1	DR	FA League Plate The Hampshire Senior Cup	R1 W
2023–24	Division One South West (4)	22	19	3	0	98	12	58	2nd	R3	R1	The Hampshire Senior Cup	W

Key to league competitions:

• Southern Region Premier - Southern Region Women's Football League Premier Division. (The fifth tier of English women's football.
• Division One South West - The FA Women's National League Southern Division One South West. (The fourth tier of English women's football.

Key to cup competitions:

• DR = Determining Round ^[c]
• PR = Preliminary Round
• R1, R2, etc. = Round 1, Round 2, etc.
• Q1, Q2, etc. = Qualifying Round 1, Qualifying Round 2, etc.
• SF = Semi-finals
• RU = Runners Up
• W = Winners

Notes

1. The full name of the club is AFC Bournemouth, without expansion. ^{[1] [2]}
2. Cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. All National League clubs are entered at the Determining Round, with the winners continuing in the League Cup competition and the losers going into the National League Plate tournament.

References

1. "Company details". AFC Bournemouth. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
2. "Club trademarks". AFC Bournemouth. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
3. "Women's team brought under Foley control, with investment planned". Bournemouth Echo. 9 June 2023.
4. "AFC Bournemouth acquired by Bill Foley-led partnership". AFCB. 13 December 2022.
5. "AFC Bournemouth". www.bournemouth.ac.uk.
6. "AFC Bournemouth Ladies – History". AFC Bournemouth Ladies. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
7. "AFCB Ladies do the Double!". Vital Bournemouth. 23 May 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
8. "Ambassador League Cup 2007/08". South West Combination Women's Football League. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
9. "Lanahan: Upset to see the club fold". Vital Bournemouth. 5 March 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
10. "2014–15 Hampshire County Division Three". The FA. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
11. "2015–16 Hampshire County Division Two". The FA. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
12. "New Ladies Manager Appointed". Eastleigh F.C. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
13. "Steve Cuss". AFC Bournemouth. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
14. "Women's Team Promoted to National League". AFC Bournemouth. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
15. "Bath Does the Trick as Cherries keep Alive Promotion Hopes". AFC Bournemouth. 10 April 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
16. "AFC Bournemouth Women". AFC Bournemouth.
17. "£3.4million boost for Ringwood football facilities project to help future Lionesses". The New Milton Advertiser and Lymington Times. 31 August 2023.
18. "Ringwood Round Table grant towards Long Lane development". Bournemouth Echo. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
19. "Progress as 3G pitch opens at Ringwood Town Football Club". Bournemouth Echo.
20. "Work starts on Ringwood Football Club clubhouse project". Bournemouth Echo.
21. "Ringwood Community Hub Opens New Facilities". Bournemouth Echo. 6 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
22. "'It was unreal' - Bath nets hat-trick as Cherries Women maintain push for promotion". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
23. "AFC Bournemouth's women set to play in front of a record crowd". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
24. "AFC Bournemouth women's head coach Steve Cuss on record crowd". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
25. "AFC Bournemouth women defeated 6-0 by Charlton Athletic in FA Cup". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
26. "AFC Bournemouth women draw 1-1 with Keynsham Town". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
27. "AFC Bournemouth close gap on Swindon Town with 4-0 win". Bournemouth Echo. 10 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
28. "Cherries on the up after victory at Vitality". AFC Bournemouth. 23 March 2025. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
29. ""AFC Bournemouth Women"". AFC Bournemouth. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
30. "Venditto departs Cherries by mutual consent". AFC Bournemouth. 21 February 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
31. "Fripp joins Bournemouth Sports on loan". AFC Bournemouth. 2 March 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
32. "Youngster Hall joins up with the Cherries". AFC Bournemouth. 4 January 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
33. "Hall joins Bournemouth on dual registration". Tottenham Hotspur. 4 January 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
34. "AFC Bournemouth Women's Team". AFC Bournemouth. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
35. "The FA". 19 May 2019.
36. "AFC Bournemouth women defeat Portsmouth in Hampshire Senior Cup". Bournemouth Echo. 20 March 2023.
37. "Steve Cuss on AFC Bournemouth women winning Hampshire Senior Cup". Bournemouth Echo. 15 May 2024.

External links

• Official website