Are Bournemouth able to host European games at Vitality Stadium?
Bournemouth have qualified for European football for the first time in their history, and next season and will host a minimum of four European matches at the Vitality Stadium. The Cherries will feature in the league phase of either the Champions League or Europa League, with the exact competition to be decided on the final day of the Premier League season. At a capacity of around 11,300 people, the club's stadium is the smallest in the Premier League by more than 6,000 seats, meaning that it would rank among the smallest stadiums in recent history to host Champions League matches should they qualify for the tournament.
While some speculation online suggests otherwise, Bournemouth have told BBC Sport that they have the necessary Uefa licence to host league phase matches in either competition. In circumstances where teams' home stadiums do not have the necessary licence to host matches, they will often use nearby grounds that do meet Uefa's requirements in order to fulfill fixtures. During the 2024-25 season, Welsh side The New Saints played their home Conference League fixtures at Shrewsbury Town's ground.
A season earlier, German side Union Berlin had to play their Champions League matches at the home of city rivals Hertha Berlin for the same reason. Bournemouth's Vitality Stadium will host European football for the first time next season All stadia are given a rating between category one and category four by Uefa, with four being the highest. From the play-off qualifying round onwards of the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, venues must have category four status.
Requirements for a category four stadium range from facilities for referees and media companies to the size of the stadium. All category four grounds must have a spectator capacity of at least 8,000, which the Vitality Stadium does meet. Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt, who reached the quarter-finals of this season's Champions League, have category four stadium status despite a capacity only fractionally over Uefa's 8,000 minimum requirement.
The list of requirements to pass category four status is extensive, but include all of the following stipulations : A pitch of dimensions of 105mx68m that includes automated under-soil pitch irrigation system and pitch heating and/or pitch cover Benches for both teams that consist of 20 seats and are at least 4m from the touchline and with an unobstructed view of the entire field of play Minimum of 8,000 seats for spectators, with at least 5% being made available to away fans Stadia must be able to provide for 80% of spectators being male and have one seated toilet and sink per 250 male spectators and one unrinal per 125 male spectators Stadia must be able to provide for 25% of spectators being female and have one seated toilet and sink per 120 female spectators in the home sector, as well as one seated toilet and sink per 80 female spectators in the visiting sector