English Premier League club AFC Bournemouth have enlisted some Hollywood help for the kits for their preseason tour of the United States.
Bournemouth launched the kits on Saturday, July 21, the same day as their first preseason friendly against Wrexham AFC in Santa Barbara, California. They’re designed by actor-director Michael B. Jordan, the star of the Creed and Black Panther movie franchises who is also a minority owner of the English club.
The kits come in both red and black, both with a tonal interlocking cherry pattern all over; the club has long had the nickname “the Cherries” due their red kits. Both have raglan sleeves that are just slightly darker than the body, as well as collars with square notches at the front.
They also feature a “modern reworking of a vintage Cherries crest” from the early 1980s that Jordan and designer Daniel Norris worked on. The crest sits in the middle of the chest in gold.
Manufacturer Umbro’s logo also appears in gold just above the reimagined crest. Bournemouth’s usual crest is on the back collar, and the logo of Jordan’s venture arm, Outlier Society Ventures, sits below the numbers on the back. An exclusive MBJ x AFCB tag is placed near the hem on the left side of the shirt.
Club owner Bill Foley first mentioned Jordan’s involvement in the design of these kits in an interview with CBS Sports in January 2024.
Bournemouth wore the black kits against Wrexham on Saturday, with the match finishing in a 1-1 draw. They’ll wear the red version against Arsenal on Wednesday, July 24, at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Against Wrexham, Bournemouth had white names and numbers printed on the back of the kits in the Premier League’s standard font.
The special edition kits are available for pre-order now through the Official AFC Bournemouth Superstore.
