AFC Bournemouth players Justin Kluivert and Kenni Thompson were guests at Bournemouth University to record a special one-off podcast ahead of the BU Big Match.
The players spoke to the Cherries’ podcast regular Zoe Rundle, and Students’ Union Vice-President Jeffery Ononiwu about the success of AFC Bournemouth’s men’s and women’s teams this season.

The special discussion also focussed on what it is like to move to a new country and settle in Bournemouth. Justin Kluivert’s playing career has included clubs in five different countries, from his birthplace in the Netherlands, through Italy, France and Spain before arriving in Bournemouth. Women’s first team player Kenni Thompson is a Bermudan international, with experience of playing football at Eibar in Spain.
This week, students from around the world will be joining Bournemouth University to begin their studies, and the podcast special has been designed to help students settle in to life in Bournemouth – showing the similarities in what it is like to move away from home, to settle in the area, and some top tips for what to do and where to go in Bournemouth too.
Both players were able to share their own experiences of moving to new places, as well as travelling for international duty, while SUBU Vice-President Jeffery Ononiwu was able to talk about his own experiences moving from Lagos in Nigeria to study at Bournemouth University.
Following the podcast recording, Kenni and Justin stayed for interviews with students from BU’s Faculty of Media & Communication, to help them put their education into practice by delivering media interviews.
Journalism student Zach Sampson interviewed Justin Kluivert as part of the assessed news day students were conducting during the visit. Justin was interviewed about his performance this season, as well as his thoughts ahead of the Liverpool game.
Speaking about the opportunity, Zach said, "It was amazing to be involved and an honour to be picked to interview Justin Kluivert. As someone who has grown up watching football it was a surreal experience to sit down and have a chat with one of the most in-form players in the Premier League.
"Justin was so helpful during the interview, willing to answer all questions and stuck around at the end to take photos and say hi to other students."

Sports Journalism student Honor Dench was delivering social media content for the event, and will be taking over BU’s Instagram channel for a behind-the-scenes look at a matchday during the BU Big Match. She said, “It was a pleasure to meet Justin and Kenni during their visit to the university. I was part of the social media content creator team, and tasked with capturing the players visit from the perspective of the students and Bournemouth University. Getting the chance to do this was a delight, as it provides me with an incredible experience to be involved with the action and interact with players I regularly watch on the pitch. It's an opportunity I’m grateful to be involved with, and I’m very excited to continue this role at the BU Big Match.”
Professor Alison Honour, Vice-Chancellor of Bournemouth University, is a guest at the BU Big Match vs Liverpool. She said, “The partnership between BU and AFC Bournemouth delivers vital experiences for our students – who have the opportunity to test their skills working with players and the Club to develop through practice as well as education. I’m very grateful to AFC Bournemouth, and to the players who took the time to visit, for all their support for our students”.
Today’s match vs Liverpool is also a BU Big Match – one match in the AFC Bournemouth fixtures schedule dedicated to celebrating the partnership between BU and AFC Bournemouth.
The special podcast episode is available on the AFC Bournemouth website, and through social media.
The partnership is now in its 13th year, delivering benefits for staff, students, supporters and the local community.
For more information about the partnership, visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/afc-bournemouth.