Tyler Adams walked onto the pitch at SoFi Stadium and was awestruck to see a capacity crowd and so many fans wearing the U.S. men’s national team jersey.
“It was an incredible sight,” the starting defensive midfielder Adams said a few days after the Americans dominated Paraguay to open World Cup play. “And that’s the motivation, the inspiration, our whole goal of this whole thing.
“To inspire people to just love the game that we love.”
On Friday as the U.S. plays against Australia in the next group-stage match in Seattle, Adams will be the face of a watch party at Circa’s Stadium Swim. His Premier League club, AFC Bournemouth, partnered with the venue to celebrate Adams as he returned to home soil for the World Cup.
The exclusive, special-edition AFC Bournemouth stripes and stars jersey inspired by Adams will be given away to the first attendees, who can also take photos with a cutout of the 27-year-old.
Bill Foley, owner of the Vegas Golden Knights, took over AFC Bournemouth in 2022 with the idea that his experience with growing a hockey fanbase and fueling on-ice success in a smaller market could translate to the pitch on England’s southern coast.
Adams signed with Bournemouth in 2023 after the Cherries had finished 15th in the first season Foley came aboard.
The squad, which two decades ago played in the second and third tiers of English football, has kept climbing. Last month, it finished a club-best sixth in the Premier League to reach a significant milestone and qualify for the UEFA Europa League for the first time.
Two days after European qualification, Foley’s hot streak continued with the Knights completing a sweep of the Colorado Avalanche to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Adams was back in his native New York on that day and told Andscape: “I give so much credit to Bill Foley, the owner. He’s not afraid to say what he wants and go after (it). And he’s been successful in everything that he’s wished for. So, it’s been pretty special.”
How much does Foley value Adams on Bournemouth?
“He’s the Mark Stone of the operation,” Foley said in January 2025 on the Men in Blazers podcast, agreeing with host Roger Bennett that Adams compares to the Knights’ do-it-all winger.
“He’s the guy that motivates and then directs (the game), and he’s genuine. He’s really a good guy. He’s paid me some very nice compliments, which I appreciate, but the reality is, he’s a winner.”
With Adams helping in Bournemouth’s on-field success, Foley has made investments into growing the fanbase. He has bought back the stadium and received planning permission to redevelop it so that a modernized facility can attract a new generation of fans locally.
For fans in the U.S., Bournemouth has marketed not only Adams, but also its culture and fashion. In 2024, as the team toured California, Bournemouth limited partner Michael B. Jordan, the actor, collaborated on designing a special-edition jersey.
With Las Vegas, Bournemouth in that year partnered with the LVCVA on bringing the Visit Las Vegas logo onto the club’s training wear. They have partnered on kits that align the Cherries nickname with Las Vegas’ slot machine imagery. The Knights in March also held a theme night to celebrate Bournemouth, which sells its own hockey jersey.
While Foley famously fulfilled his Stanley Cup promise with the Knights in six years, he has beaten his projection of Bournemouth playing in Europe in five years under his ownership. After the qualification, Foley wrote a letter thanking supporters and closed with a phrase Knights fans are familiar with.
“Always advance, never retreat.”
Contact Diamond Leung at dleung@reviewjournal.com. Follow @diamond83 on X.
