Ribbon cut on £32m AFC Bournemouth training centre

A new £32m training facility has been opened by AFC Bournemouth.

The state-of-the-art centre has an indoor dome as well as outdoor full-sized pitches and will be used by the men's first team, the women's team as well as academy players.

Planning permission was granted back in 2019 for facility on the 57-acre former Canford Magna Golf Club site.

Former Cherries player and now assistant first-team technical director, Simon Francis said: "It's been a long time coming but we're pleased to be here now."

The team currently sit eighth in the Premier League but were in League Two 15 years ago when players used to train at Canford School in Wimborne.

Francis said: "The rise of the club since then, the icing on the cake to finally be in this place, is fully deserved for everyone that's been involved in the club over the years," he said.

Former Bournemouth striker Brett Pitman, who now works with the club's academy, described the new facility as "inspiring" for the younger players, adding that having everyone linked to the club together in one area "can only be a benefit to everybody".

Bournemouth owner Bill Foley attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony along with the first team squad and manager Andoni Iraola, who are preparing to host Manchester United at the Vitality Stadium at 14:00 BST on Sunday.

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