AFC Bournemouth Women
Women's football club in Dorset, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AFC Bournemouth Women (/ˈbɔːrnməθ/ ⓘ BORN-məth), commonly referred to as just Bournemouth, is an English semi-professional women's football club based in Dorset, England. The club plays in the FA Women's National League, Southern Premier Division, the third tier of English women's football, after winning promotion in the previous (2024–25) season.
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| Full name | AFC Bournemouth Women[a] | |||
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| Nickname | The Cherries | |||
| Founded | 1992 as Bournemouth | |||
| Ground | The Ringwood Community Hub | |||
| Capacity | 1,000 The Ringwood Community Hub | |||
| Chairman | Bill Foley | |||
| Manager | Helen Bleazard | |||
| League | FA Women's National League South | |||
| 2024–25 | FA Women's National League Division One South West, 1st of 12 (promoted) | |||
| Website | afcb.co.uk/women | |||
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In Summer 2023, control of AFC Bournemouth women's team transferred from the AFC Bournemouth Community Sports Trust (CST) to AFC Bournemouth Ltd - the main club company.[3][4][5] In June 2025, AFC Bournemouth Women Limited was incorporated as a separate company in the Black Knight Football Club Group.[6][7]
History
Early history
Bournemouth won the 2003–04 Southern Region Division One.[8] 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.[9] The club reached the final of the 2007–08 South West Combination League Cup, but were beaten 4–1 by Plymouth Argyle.[10] Bournemouth were forced to withdraw from the league due to financial problems, and lack of managerial staff. The club ultimately folded in March 2009.[11]
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,[12] and the 2015–16 Hampshire County Division Two.[13] Manager Steve Davies left the club in 2019,[14] with Bournemouth appointing Steve Cuss as manager ahead of the 2019–20 season.[15] The club successfully applied for promotion to the FA Women's National League Division One South West for the 2021–22 season.[16] Bournemouth made their competitive debut at Dean Court on 10 April 2022, in a 4–1 win against Chesham United.[17]
The 2023–24 season saw the players move to a semi-professional status.[18] The season itself came to a dramatic end, as the last match of the season between Bournemouth and Exeter City would decide which of the two teams would be promoted.[19] Exeter City chose to play the match in the familiar surroundings of the Exwick Sports Hub, their regular home venue and not at the main St James Park stadium, despite high interest in the match causing tickets to sell out.[20] Bournemouth could only manage a 1–1 draw, which saw Exeter City promoted as champions.[21] Despite not winning promotion, Bournemouth remained unbeaten in the league having last lost a league match against Cardiff City on 5th March 2023, in the previous season.[22]
The 2024–25 season was eventually the team's most successful on record. The team lost the Determining Round match in the WNL to Moneyfields.[23] However, their 18th successive league game and 18th league win in a row saw them confirmed as champions and promoted to The Southern Premier Division in a match at Dean Court in front of over 7,000 fans.[24][25] Drawing only one subsequent league match made it the second successive season unbeaten in the league.[26][27] A strong defensive performance also saw them not concede a goal for over 1,000 minutes and assisted goalkeeper Erin Foley in winning the Golden Glove award.[28] In attack, striker Jenna Markham won the Golden Boot award.[29] The team also won the National League Plate Trophy[30] and narrowly missed out on a third trophy, finishing runners up in The Hampshire Senior Cup just 3 days later.[31]
Prior to the start of the 2025–26 season, Steve Cuss stepped down from his dual role of Team Manager and Head of the Community Support Trust, to concentrate on just the CST role.[32] Helen Bleazard, was initially appointed Interim Manager[33], then confirmed as Manager after a successful start to the season that saw her nominated as manager of the month and the team top of the division with 4 league games played.[34] The team’s unbeaten run in the league continued until 18 February 2026 when they lost 1–0 away to Oxford in a rainswept evening kick off.[35] It was an unbeaten run of 60 games, 1,081 days and covered two full seasons. Despite the loss they remained in contention for a promotion place at the end of the season.
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.[36]
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.[37][38]
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.[39]
Work started on the new pavilion clubhouse in June 2023.[40] 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.[41]
The old Ringwood Town FC clubhouse was subsequently 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[42] |
| 16 Apr 2023 | Maidenhead | D 0–0 | 3,067[43] |
| 5 Nov 2023 | Portishead Town | W 4–0 | 6,805[44] |
| 10 Dec 2023 | Charlton Athletic (FA Cup) | L 0–6 | 1,450[45] |
| 24 Mar 2024 | Keynsham Town | D 1–1 | 6,162[46] |
| 10 Nov 2024 | Swindon Town | W 4–0 | 6,054[47] |
| 23 Mar 2025 | Bristol Rovers | W 2–0 | 7,076[48] |
| 29 Oct 2025 | Oxford United | W 2–1 | 5,850[49] |
| 12 Apr 2025 | Real Bedford | L 1–2 | 5,370[50] |
Current squad
- As of 21 December 2025[51]
Most recent squad changes
Sophia Leonard has dual-registered with the club from Arsenal.[52]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Dual registration loan
Dual registration loans allow young players from higher tier level clubs to gain senior team experience at lower league clubs, usually Women's National League, whilst also being eligible for their original team's academy or even senior team games.[53]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
There are no Bournemouth players currently out on loan.
Management
Current management and coaching staff
- As of August 2025[54]
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Helen Bleazard | Manager |
Managerial history
| Dates | Name |
|---|---|
| 2016–2019 |  Steve Davies |
| 2019–2025 | Steve Cuss |
| 2025– |  Helen Bleazard |
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[55]
- The Hampshire Senior Cup
- FA Women's National League Plate
- Winners: 2024-25[58]
- FA Women's National League Cup
- Winners: 2025-26[59]
League history
| Champions | Runners-up | Promoted ↑ | Relegated ↓ |
| Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division (tier) | 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 |
| 2024–25 | ↑Division One South West (4) | 22 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 7 | 62 | 1st | R3 | DR | FA League Plate
The Hampshire Senior Cup |
W
RU |
| 2025–26 | Southern Premier Division (3) | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 61 | 11 | 46 | 3rd | R4 | W |
N/A | N/A |
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
- Cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 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.