About Us

Club

Founded in 2009, Bournemouth Sports FC provides the Football Section at Chapel Gate, as part of Bournemouth Sports Club.

We provide footballing opportunities for players at mini-soccer level, through to adult teams, and for volunteers to coach, referee, manage and administer aspects of the club.

Based just outside Ferndown, in Dorset, we have players from across Dorset and parts of Hampshire.

Our coaching team includes an FA Level 3 coach, plus several FA Level 2’s, and all of our managers have a minimum FA Level 1 coaching qualification. We also have a specialist FA qualified Goal-Keeping coach.

Our move to Chapel Gate has allowed us to make use of the excellent facilities available in this 65-acre sporting venue, with a view to expanding and developing into a community club to which all are welcome.

Club Status

We hold the status of ‘Development Club’ within the range of FA Charter standards.

This means that we are committed to:

providing high quality and safe opportunities for young people of all ages in our community
providing a safe and positive alternative place to go other than playing on the streets
helping people realise their potential, develop personal skill and confidence
introducing people to football regardless of age, ability, sex, religion and ethnic background
improving the performance of players, coaches and volunteers within the club

We are also committed to ensuring that all volunteers go through our volunteer selection process, which includes an enhanced CRB clearance check. All coaching staff have achieved the FA Level One coaching certificate, as a minimum. They also go through our selection process, and have first aid and child welfare training.

In addition, we are also linked with all three Ferndown Schools, helping them achieve their own FA Schools’ Charter Status, and with Bournemouth University. We hope to develop this link by sending our own coaches and scouts into the schools in the near future.

As a club, we are looking to achieve the next level of FA Charter Status, ‘Community Status’ which, in addition to the above, requires us to provide dedicated girls football, and links to both disability and adult football clubs. We would also need a link to a local semi-professional/professional club.

Facilities

We are based at Chapel Gate, close to Bournemouth International Airport.

Our facilities include a large club house with changing rooms, seating areas, and a bar serving hot and cold food. We have flood-lit astro training pitches, in addition to a selection of grass pitches which include a Hampshire Premier League pitch. These facilities form part of the requirements of the future FA Ground Grading Step-7.

Club History

Bournemouth Sports FC is made up of a Youth Section and an Adult Section.

The Youth Section was established as Cannon Colts YFC in 1992, with the aim of providing football for boys in the Colehill area of Wimborne. The club took its name from Cannon Hill Plantation.

The club was started with just one Under 10′s team, formed by the now Life President Bill Laxton, but was joined the following year by and Under 12′s Ferndown team managed by John Rolfe .

During the 1990s the mini-soccer format was introduced by the FA, this saw the number of teams increase as many young children were introduced to the sport. Over the years the number of teams further increased and Cannon Colts YFC was regarded as one of the largest youth football clubs within Dorset.

The Adult Section, which has no direct connection with the Club of the same name that played in the Dorset Premier League until 2007, evolved from Mercury FC, who played at the Civil Service Ground in Kinson until 2005 when the ROKO Leisure Centre acquired the ground.

We played as ROKO until 2008, when we moved to Chapel Gate and restored the Club name as Mercury FC.

A year later we cemented our relationship with Bournemouth Sports Club and became Bournemouth Sports Football Club.

We have previously played in the Bournemouth Hawyard Leagues locally – our Reserves still do on a Sunday – but the 1st team has been invited to join the Hampshire Premier League and from 2011 will be playing in their Senior Division.

During the 2009/10 season Bournemouth Sports FC merged with Cannon Colts YFC to form a Club capable of providing good quality football from mini soccer right through to adult football.

Cannon Colts were unable to offer senior football to its players and Bournemouth Sports did not have a youth section so it was a natural fit – one that should see the Club emerge as one of the best places to play football on the South coast.