AFC Bournemouth
Sam Gisborne has been appointed to the role of assistant Academy manager at AFC Bournemouth.
Gisborne first joined the club as a work placement student in 2015 and was most recently Academy operations & facilities manager, ahead of this latest promotion.
Academy manager Joe Roach spoke of the decision to move Gisborne into the more senior role within the youth set up at the club.
“The Academy has continued to develop, both from a player and staff perspective, regardless of division or category status.
“We have made huge strides in the last five years as will have been evident in the number of Academy players in our first team squads, out on loan at league clubs or developing externally at other clubs.
“The club had no hesitation in supporting my request; in part due to the impact Sam has made in his time in his role, as well as meeting our internal staff development plan.
“I’m delighted to have Sam working with me. His role will, in the main, remain as a key operational role with additional responsibilities and key decision making. He is a valued individual with a can do-will do attitude and a bright future.
“Player progression is one of the most important parts of our role and this can only be achieved with the excellent staff we have working with them, to have staff development and progression aligned to this strategy is equally as fulfilling for myself and I am delighted to have Sam in this new role.”
Speaking after the appointment was announced, Gisborne said: “Moving into this role is a great opportunity and honour for me at this club.
“Having joined in 2015 as a work placement student and progressing through supporting roles within the operations department and then as operations manager, I have built some great relationships with the staff, players and parents.
“The beauty of operations is that I get to work with all departments and in recent years I have worked particularly closely with Joe, so to be offered the position of assistant Academy manager is something I am really excited about and hope that I can help to continue to push this Academy on.”
