READ through AFC Bournemouth’s starting XI for any given game and you will see a host of players from across the globe.
Next season Cherries’ squad will consist of players from all but one continent, but they will be backed by fans from all around the world.
Although one of the smallest in the Premier League, Cherries are now truly international thanks to their diaspora of fans.
Plenty of supporters got in touch with the Daily Echo to share their stories of following Cherries miles away from Dorset.
Of course, a lot of fans flying the red flag abroad originated on the south coast of England before life led them overseas.
David, currently in Washington D.C, USA, was the longest-serving fan to get in touch.
A supporter since 1970, David first moved stateside in 1988. Back then, he had to rely on a shortwave radio to get any Cherries news.
Whilst living in Bournemouth David was a season ticket holder at Dean Court, but now he shows his devotion by running a supporters’ group in the States.
NACHOS – short for North American Cherries Overseas Supporters – has over 1,000 members on Facebook, serving to unite fans across the USA, Canada, and Barbados.
“The club has been supportive,” David explains.
“We have turnouts around the country at the NBC fanfests each season.
“I am hoping the global Cherries idea from the club will take off and that the LA training camp will help grow awareness of the club.”
Originally from Bournemouth and now in Orlando, Florida, Daniel is one of the younger fans who got in touch.
“Before heading to the States I got to watch a couple of Premier league games and I got my first Cherries kit and I would wear it all the time at school,” he begins.
“My family back in England send me the kits through the mail and I am teaching kids over here in America about the best club, AFC Bournemouth!”
Whilst David and Daniel went across the pond, Paul and Ian went down under.
Paul swapped hemispheres in 1996, moving to Brisbane, Australia. In his first years in Oz, Paul relied on a newspaper, the British Soccer Weekly, to track Cherries’ fortunes – albeit a week behind.
Although in its infancy in terms of popular usage, the internet also helped Paul follow his side.
Paul recounts: “When we got to the play-off final (2003) I followed on an internet chat room in the middle of the night with other Cherries fans around the world.
“It was an odd experience, not having any atmosphere on such a historic event for the club.”
Ian is another who has swapped the UK for Australia, moving from Burton to Sydney in 2009.
“When I first got here in 2009, you’d get 30 seconds on a Football League round-up, and some message boards, and that was it.
“It’s grown over the years from three-minute Youtube videos on the official site, and in the Championship the odd live game.”
Matt also lives in the southern hemisphere after growing up in Dorset, moving to New Zealand in 2017.
Of course, by the time Matt swapped Bournemouth for Auckland it was far easier to follow Cherries, with games televised live.
However, there is still a lot of effort required – thanks to the difference in time zones.
“I used to wake up for every game,” Matt starts.
“2am, 3am or 4am depending on the time of year.
“Watching games is quite affordable over here but does take some dedication.
“As time has gone by, it has become harder to get myself up to watch, so watching the game back in the morning has become more of a thing.
“Evening games are great as I will have the game on TV as I work from home.
“The worst part is missing my group of friends back in the UK and traveling up and down the country from London doing all the away days.”
Cherries owner Bill Foley’s desire to expand his portfolio of clubs has seen the American set up a new club in Matt’s city, with Auckland FC joining the A-League in October of this year.
Matt shared: “I am mildly excited.
“Whenever we have an opportunity for a live sporting event in Auckland, I will jump at the chance.
“Up to now, we have been lucky enough to have a couple of Wellington Phoenix games played in Auckland's Eden Park each year.
“I feel a little like I am doing the dirty on them, but I have gathered a group of nine to all get season tickets to watch Auckland FC.
“We are founder members and will have our names on a special edition footy shirt, which will be used for the first game.”
Another ‘Matt’ left Bournemouth to move abroad, moving with his family to Canada around 10 years ago.
Now based in Stratford, Ontario, Matthew and his father make sure to watch Cherries every week.
A decade ago Cherries were just about to finish their rise up the Football League, returning to the second tier ahead of their promotion to the top flight.
“It was much harder,” Matthew admits.
“Now Bournemouth are in the Premier League, in Canada with a monthly or yearly subscription, you are able to watch every game for a decent price on TV.
“There is much less coverage for teams in the Championship.
“League One and below is virtually non-existent beyond the odd game here and there, and the playoffs.”
Some expats did not move to opposite sides of the world, emigrating across the Channel.
Sophie has lived in Germany for two years – and despite being over 500 miles away from Vitality Stadium, she has become chief correspondent for her family on matchdays.
She explains: “Thanks to us being in the Premier League and with no 3pm blackout rules, it's pretty easy (to follow Cherries).
“Our games are always shown on Sky Sports here, which is obviously not the case in England.
“There are many times that I am texting my parents with full commentary of what's happening since I am the only one who can watch the game!”
Joe is another on the continent, currently living in Madrid after swapping sunny Bournemouth for Spain.
In fact, he lives a 15-minute metro ride away from Rayo Vallecano, the club Andoni Iraola left to take over as Cherries boss.
“I’ve never seen anything in the media about AFCB here, however, we are definitely more well known since Iraola moved to the club,” Joe begins.
“My team I follow out here is Rayo Vallecano which is just a 15-minute metro from my flat.
“It’s obviously Iraola’s old club so when I speak to a local they will know us from this.”
Joe is not the only Cherries supporter in Madrid.
Adrián is from Madrid, but thanks to his mother hailing from Bournemouth, he is a Cherry through and through.
He has a sizeable collection of Cherries shirts despite customs hiking the price up to 100€, proudly wearing the club badge in a city dominated by two of the world’s biggest clubs in Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
“It definitely has,” responds Adrián when asked if having a Spanish head coach has boosted Cherries’ profile in Iberia.
“The day it was announced I had a few friends message me about the news and tell me how good a manager he was, and same after his manager of the year nomination - I saw important Spanish media talk about it.
“I do feel quite proud, but to be honest, just as proud as I was when Diego Rico played for us or even Rodrigo Riquelme.”
Family ties is another route for those abroad falling in love with Cherries.
Born and raised in Sydney, Simon also has his mum to thank for his reason for supporting AFC Bournemouth.
It was during a visit to see his grandparents in Christchurch for Christmas in 1994 that Simon got his first taste of Cherries, his dad taking him to Dean Court to watch Bournemouth beat Swansea 3-2.
Simon shares: “I have been lucky enough to see the team live quite a few times.
“I got married in Christchurch in 2013 and took my best man, brother-in-law and father-in-law to a match a few days before the wedding.
“Since being in the Premier League I have seen them a number of times when I have been back to the UK.
“I saw three games in 2017, three in 2019 and one this season past.”
But you don’t need to trace your roots back to Dorset in order to support Cherries.
Simon’s fellow Australian, Josh, has a video game to thank for finding Cherries.
It turns out FIFA, now EA Sports’ FC, was another common way people have stumbled upon Cherries, perhaps helped by AFC Bournemouth coming first alphabetically when listed in the game.
“I was fired from my previous career mode job on FIFA and AFCB were the only team that offered me a job,” Josh explains.
“I looked more into the club and the more I fell in love with a down-on-its-luck underdog defying all odds and rising through the ranks.
“I know it might sound absurd but I was 14 at the time.”
Josh is not alone, with fans on other continents with similar stories.
Alan, who runs the Bournemouth Argento Twitter account, started following the club from Argentina in 2011 after playing with the team on FIFA, but it was the performances of Harry Arter and Marc Pugh that cemented his fandom.
Steve, from the US, was another offered to manage Cherries virtually on FIFA, before doing his research and becoming attached to Bournemouth’s underdog story.
“It all started when I was playing FIFA 16, and I was doing a manager career mode with the New England Revolution of the MLS.
“After a season, I wanted to move my manager to England to play in the Premier League.
“I was only allowed to choose between three teams: Bournemouth, Middlesbrough, and Burnley.
“After researching, I ended up choosing Bournemouth because I thought the stadium and atmosphere was unique compared to most other Premier League clubs.
“I also watched some highlights and really enjoyed seeing how the team played with Eddie as the manager. I started following the team and their results after this.”
FIFA is not the only football video game that generates Cherries supporters. Travis, from Canada, was a hockey obsessive growing up, but thanks to Football Manager he is now a football fanatic.
But it was Cherries’ story that sealed the deal for Travis.
“It was a mixture of things,” he explains.
“The nickname, the gorgeous kits - at the time it was the gradient version of the kits that worked so well blending the stripes together - the history of the club climbing to the Prem from the brink of relegation, the story of Eddie How, along with other club legends.
“I also didn't want to support a club just because I knew someone else did or it was "cool" to.
“I wanted that emotional connection to the club and I found it with Bournemouth.”
That emotional connection can manifest in a variety of ways.
Taisei, is from Japan, but currently lives in Australia. Whilst at school, he spent time as an exchange student in Bournemouth – staying with a host family that were Cherries season ticket holders.
“It was the welcoming atmosphere of Cherries supporters and community,” Taisei explains.
“At that time, I was just a high-school language exchange student from Japan. However, my host family and other supporters all warmly welcomed me.
“Also, the team is closely connected to the community, which I felt was amazing.”
Cherries star Dominic Solanke started his summer with a trip to Japan, the striker a massive fan of anime, which originates from the land of the rising sun.
“It’s nothing but cool! Amazing!!!” replies Taisei when asked about seeing a part of his culture appreciated by one of his heroes.
“(Cherries aren’t known) so much in Japan, but acknowledgement has been increasing rapidly thanks to Dom Solanke.”
Will is a Dorset expat currently living in Japan, having previously called France and Australia home.
A university teacher in Yokohama since 2018, Will is aware of Taisei’s Twitter account.
“Over the last few years, there has been more of a Japanese AFCB fan presence on social media, fans like Timo (Taisei) who devoutly follow the team from the Far East,” explains Will.
“I'd love for Bournemouth to sign a Japanese player, and I reckon Ritsu Doan or Reo Hatate would be great additions!”
There are some more obscure ways of catching the Cherries bug. For Rui, originally from Portugal but now living in the Netherlands, it was by watching games via betting websites.
“In 2014, I was still studying in university, so there was some extra time to find some extra interests and hobbies.
“One of my hobbies was following the English lower leagues.
“There were a few streams on some betting websites such as Bet365 and some of the games could be followed through there.
“I picked Bournemouth after looking at their previous season and started watching their streamed games.
“After watching their brand of football, I really fell in love with it and started getting more interested in the club and their players. And I've followed them ever since.”
As you might expect, promotion to the Premier League led to a boom in Cherries supporters overseas, especially in North America.
Like the aforementioned Travis, fans in the United States and Canada fell in love with Cherries’ rag-to-riches story.
Tristan shares: “I picked the Cherries because of their relatively small fan base, and the story of -17. It seemed like a very real club with real supporters and was certainly an underdog.”
Will concurs: “(My first year watching the Premier League) happened to coincide with Bournemouth’s maiden voyage in the Premiership, and as a Chicago Cubs fan I relate heavily to an underdog.”
Just as promotion to the Premier League caused an uptick in support the other side of the pond, the world shutting down for COVID lockdowns at the start of the pandemic led to more people finding Cherries.
Project Restart saw the Premier League become one of the first major sports leagues to return to action during pandemic, with all the games being spread out and televised giving Cherries more exposure.
Michael, from Chicago, explains: “The pandemic brought about a dry spell in looking for live sports.
“My wife was pregnant with our second child and I found myself taking care of an 18-month-old daughter, which included getting up early with her on the weekends.
“It piqued my interest when I stumbled upon NBC broadcasting Premier League games live on a Saturday morning.
“It gave me something to watch that scratched the itch of cheering for something.”
After watching Cherries defeat Leicester and learning about the ramifications of relegation, Michael slowly became hooked.
Cherries would be relegated at the end of that COVID-impacted season, requiring loyalty from those that continued following the club during their two seasons in the Championship.
Parker, from Alabama, explains: “The two seasons in the Championship were a challenge as we only get one-ish game a week from the Championship.
“So you were pretty lucky to get more than four or five games a season that you could watch.”
Cherries’ profile in the States has again increased since Foley’s takeover of the club in 2022.
“I was excited that his group bought the team, but not necessarily because he is an American,” Michael from Seattle explains.
“It had more to do with the instant success the Golden Vegas Knights had, how well run that organization is and his willingness to spend money.
“Ever since I became a fan, I've been happy if they stayed up. Now, I think the bar is higher.”
That optimism is shared by Jack in Canada.
He shares: “It is such an exciting time to be a Cherries fan and it feels like the sky is the limit! “Iraola ball is beautiful.”
Another Jack, in Wisconsin, USA, is similarly positive.
“I am excited about Bill Foley taking over the club,” Jack begins.
“He’s injected real optimism in the club as a whole. Not everything is perfect, but overall like most people, the product on the pitch at least has been a joy to watch.”
This summer, Cherries will be stateside, visiting Los Angeles and Santa Barbara as part of their pre-season preparations.
Cherries are due to play two pre-season friendlies, with one currently pencilled in against Wrexham.
Mark will be flying in from Texas with his daughter to catch the opportunity to see Cherries in the flesh.
He shares: “I have tickets for my daughter and I to fly to Santa Barbara and attend the game against Wrexham.
“We’re very much looking forward to it and depending upon where the second game is, we may attempt to attend that one as well, especially if it’s in Vegas as we can get a direct flight pretty easily.”
We’ve heard from fans from both Americas, Asia, Oceania, and Europe – but there is a group in Uganda flying the Cherries flag in Africa.
Bournemouth Kakira, based out of Ibun Orphanage, play in Cherries kit and proudly wear the AFC Bournemouth badge.
The team get to watch Cherries action after funds were raised to provide equipment to televise matches, with Bournemouth supporters helping with running costs for the team
Coach Josh Kizza tells: “First and foremost we are very lucky and blessed to be belonging to the best football family in the world.
“The fans, spearheaded by Steve Butler, helped in fundraising money to buy a big screen and DSTV decoder that helps us to watch all Cherries games and news.
“We are very happy and thankful for their endless support.
“For the fact that we get kits from AFC Bournemouth we are very proud of the badge and we wear it with pride.
“The boys and girls play wholeheartedly for the badge.
“One of the best things about it is that the entire community loves the badge too.
“Personally I am very happy that I have planted the Bournemouth seeds in these people and it’s really getting on good.”
You can help support Cherries Kakira via this link.
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