An update on supporter matters at the end of the season and with a view to 2017/18.

Young Supporters given the opportunity to play on the pitch

We had a great turnout from our young fans for the exclusive Junior Cherries pitch event on Tuesday 23rd May and in the process raised over £500 for Mosaic, the 2016/17 season Junior Cherries charity. Several children with whom Mosaic are helping through bereavement attended the sessions and we have had some lovely feedback on their positive experience.

Young supporters had further opportunities to show off their skills on our pitch by attending the Community Sports Trust-organised pitch events on the following weekend.

It was great to see young supporters enjoying a money-can’t-buy experience and there were definitely a lot of talented boys and girls displaying their skills.

Our thanks to the Community Sports Trust coaches for their excellent organisation and engagement with the children.

The pitch looks very different now, having just been covered as part of the close season regeneration, but it will soon be showing green again and once again be up there with the best in the Premier League.

Season tickets

The window for season ticket renewals opened on 22nd May and renewals are coming in at a good pace. The introduction of the facility to renew by phone for the first time has been very well received with around 40% of renewals so far being made using this method.

We have received an unprecedented number of requests to transfer season tickets into another name for the coming season. As a reminder, the club’s policy is to release any seasonal seats not renewed for use on a match by match basis so giving as many supporters as possible the opportunity to attend games and we do need to be as fair and consistent in this approach as possible.

We have an upgrade to our ticketing system planned after the season ticket renewal and seat move windows have closed on 23rd June. This will bring added features and benefits to our ticketing service but will necessitate a window where we will be unable to process ticket transactions. We will keep fans informed on this via the usual channels.

Accessible stadia guidelines

Work has now started at Vitality Stadium on implementing our staged approach to adhering to the Accessible Stadia Guidelines. Wheelchair users will be able to enjoy games from a variety of raised viewing platforms as well as enhanced facilities around the stadium.

The various projects are due to be completed by August so there is lots of activity around the place in addition to the usual close season works we undertake.

Equality

Having achieved the Premier League Preliminary Equality Standard, the club is now working towards the Intermediate Standard.

This will involve a review of our procedures and policies as well as demonstrating the club’s commitment to equality. Over the nine protected characteristics, equality impacts on a large number of our supporters and of course our work in our local community and we are looking forward to consulting with supporters, partners and local organisations to remove any barriers we can to ensure that anyone who wants to be a part of AFC Bournemouth can do so free from any form of discrimination.

Contact

To contact the club's supporter liaison officer please send an email to liz.finney@afcb.co.uk.