Eddie Mitchell (died 17 February 2024) was an English sports executive.

Football career

Mitchell owned Dorchester Town FC. He was also involved in

Poole Town F.C. Poole Town Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Poole, Dorset, England. They currently compete in the . The club was established in 1880 and they affiliated to the Dorset County Football Association and are a The Footb ...

. He was known as "Marmite Mitch". Mitchell was the owner and chairman of AFC Bournemouth between June 2009 and September 2013, and oversaw the beginning rise of the team which moved up from League Two to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. It was the first time this had happened since 1987. In September 2013, he stepped down as chair. His shares of the club were sold to Russian businessman

Maxim Demin Maxim Victorovich Demin (born October 1969) is a Russian-born British businessman. In 2011, Demin became co-owner of then Football League side AFC Bournemouth with Eddie Mitchell, reportedly paying £850,000 for his share of the club. Subsequen ...

. Two weeks after he had sold the club, he was banned from spectating its games.

Business career

Mitchell was a property developer and reportedly built more than 1,000 homes particularly in the

Sandbanks Sandbanks is an affluent neighbourhood of Poole, Dorset, on the south coast of England, situated on a narrow spit of around 1 km2 or 0.39 sq mi extending into the mouth of Poole Harbour. It is known for its high property prices and for it ...

area of

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council ...

. In 2010 he paid for the restoration of

Dean Court Dean Court, currently known as the Vitality Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a association football, football stadium in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England and the home ground of AFC Bournemouth. History In 1910 ...

. In 2019, he opened the UK’s first technical football centre in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

. More recently, Mitchell owned Elite Skills Arena, a company manufacturing high technology football training products used notably by

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

Personal life and death

In 2018, Mitchell suffered serious medical issues and underwent open-heart surgery at

Southampton General Hospital Southampton General Hospital (SGH) is a large teaching hospital in Southampton, Hampshire, England run by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital was founded in 1900 as the Southampton Union Infirmary in Sh ...

. Mitchell died on 17 February 2024, at the age of 69. Those who paid tribute included former Bournemouth manager

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In hi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Eddie 1950s births 2024 deaths AFC Bournemouth Chairmen and investors of football clubs in England English football chairmen and investors English football managers British businesspeople