Matchday guide: Bournemouth (h)

By NFFC

On Saturday afternoon, we commence our 2024/25 campaign by welcoming AFC Bournemouth to The City Ground (3pm KO).

The Reds will be looking to build on a successful end to pre-season with a 4-3 victory in Greece against Olympiakos last Thursday evening.

Please see below the Matchday Guide with all the relevant information you need ahead of your visit to The City Ground this season.

Visit @NFFCServices on X to keep up with all the latest matchday communications.

The Brand-New Home and Away Shirts are available in each of our retail stores and online. Shop here to buy yours now.

Show off your new home shirt! Post a photo in our new shirt on Saturday using #WearYourStars.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST HAVE ZERO TOLERANCE FOR ALL FORMS OF ABUSE, HARASSMENT & DISCRIMINATION. IF YOU SEE OR HEAR ANY FORM OF ABUSE, PLEASE REPORT IT TO 80800 AND START YOUR MESSAGE WITH ‘FOREST’.

This Matchday Guide walks you through advice on how to get to the game, what you can expect on a matchday and what you can do to play your part in creating a safe space for all supporters attending The City Ground.

ZERO-TOLERANCE FOR ABUSE OR DISCRIMINATION

We are reminding all supporters of our zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination of any kind.

Forest is for everyone, and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment which embraces and celebrates our differences. We will continue working hard to ensure that everyone who attends our stadium has a positive experience.

The Club advocates a strict policy of zero tolerance towards supporters who act or express any form of discriminative language or behaviour towards others. Including ablism, misogyny, racism, homophobia, antisemitism, and tragedy chanting. Any individuals found to have been engaged in any sort of abusive or discriminatory behaviour will be subject to necessary sanctions. This could be a ban from the ground and court orders if found guilty.

We will continue to work closely with the police and Kick It Out in dealing with individuals and applying the necessary sanctions where individuals are found guilty.

To ensure our home is a safe environment for everyone we need your help. The Club has a free of charge Safe Text service where you can report any form of abuse, harassment, discrimination, or anti-social behaviour when visiting the City Ground.

In line with our zero-tolerance approach; If you witness any inappropriate behaviour of any kind, please make a nearby steward aware or you can report it on our free of charge Safe Text number ‘80800’ by starting the message with ‘FOREST’.

Please provide as much information as possible including your stand, block, row, and seat number to allow our Safety & Security team to help you as best they can.

We are committed to Nottingham Forest Football Club being an inclusive and safe space for all fans to come and enjoy watching us play regardless of age, gender, religion, sexuality, or ablism.

SAFEGUARDING

This is a reminder to all supporters that children age U14 MUST be always accompanied by an Adult aged 18+ when attending games at the City Ground.
All supporters under 14 will be refused entry if not accompanied by an Adult 18+.
Children U4 are NOT allowed to attend matches at the City Ground on health & safety grounds and will be refused entry.
Children under 14 are not permitted to walk around the concourse alone and must be supervised by an adult
During the game, children Under 14 must be sat next to the adult with whom they are accompanied.
On arrival make sure your children are aware of their seat details, emergency exits and where the toilets are situated in your stand.
Ensure Children wear appropriate clothing for this time of year and have some form of ID on them.
Report any issues or concerns at the time to one of our stewards immediately. Where necessary our Safeguarding & Welfare Team will provide support.
It is also advisable to arrange a meeting point should children become lost or separated.

PERSISTENT STANDING

Nottingham Forest would like to remind all supporters that persistent standing is prohibited in regular seats at the City Ground for your safety and the safety of others.

The local authority’s Safety Advisory Group has raised serious concerns about persistent standing during our home matches this season.

Despite a number of new safe standing areas being added within the ground, Nottingham Forest would like to remind all supporters persistent standing outside these seats is strictly prohibited.

Failure to address persistent standing puts the club at risk of severe sanctions, including an enforced reduction in stadium capacity on match days. This would have extremely negative consequences for our famous atmosphere, limit the availability of tickets for supporters, and harm our finances and reputation. We cannot allow this to happen.

It is therefore imperative we take stronger measures to ensure compliance with strict stadium regulations. Please be advised that if supporters fail to comply with the requests of our security and stewarding colleagues, we reserve the right to ban individuals from the stadium and rescind season cards, where appropriate.

Please be respectful of requests from our stewards on match days. They are here to ensure the safety and enjoyment of everyone in the stadium and enforce compliance with the conditions set out in our safety license.

The club is extremely grateful for your role in helping create the City Ground atmosphere that is known across the Premier League, and beyond. Let’s work together to keep it that way.

TICKETS & HOSPITALITY

General admission tickets are now sold out for this fixture but there may still be availability in some of our existing and improved hospitality suites. To purchase hospitality, please click here or call 0115 982 4450.

Tickets may still be available to purchase online for MyForest members through our ticket exchange platform which will be open until 30 minutes before kick-off. Please click here to visit the ticket exchange platform.

Supporters should note that the Matchday Ticket Office in the Brian Clough Stand has now closed. All matchday enquiries must be made at the main Ticket Office, whilst the main Ticket Office will close at 3:45pm and not be open after the game has finished.

As we continue to improve our fan experience, there are new ongoing developments around the stadium. As part of that, we have created two new designated entrances for the Legends Lounge and designated entrances for both the Robin Hood Suite and the 1865 Club.

The new entrances are to the left and right of the previous Legends Lounge Reception and will ensure a smooth and speedy entrance into the Legends Lounge to enjoy the pre-match Hospitality.

Please use entrance A if:

• Tickets are located block X6 and X7

• Seats 1 – 68 on Rows S-V

• You require an accessible entrance

Please use entrance B if:

• Tickets are located block X8, X9, X10

• Seats 71 – 168 on Rows S-V

The new Robin Hood Suite entrance can be found to the left of the Matchday Reception, and the 1865 Club entrance to the right. These new entrances will reduce the flow of people through the previous entrance allowing you to access each area quickly and enjoy the facilities of your respective hospitality area.

To ensure there are no delays in access to your hospitality area, please make sure you have the correct tickets with you on arrival.

Turnstiles will open from 1.30pm – 90 minutes prior to the 3pm kick-off.

The Ticket Office is open from 9.00am until half time.

Following an increase in the number of supporters turning up at the Ticket Office on a matchday, experiencing issues due to either forgetting their Season Card or bringing last year’s Season Card, supporters are reminded to ensure that prior to departing for The City Ground, the below is done:

Ensure that your Season Card is on your person ahead of arriving at The City Ground
Ensure that the correct 24/25 Season Card is brought, as opposed to any previous Season Cards such as Season Cards issued for 23/24 or 22/23.
That any previous Season Cards are separate to this year’s Season Card, so as not to bring the wrong one.

Please be advised that should you forget your Season Card, or bring the wrong one, then you must come to the Ticket Office with valid ID to collect a paper ticket reprint.

The above is being advised to reduce any potential queues at the Ticket Office on a matchday, so we can ensure that everyone gains access in ample time and does not miss any of the game.

You may be subjected to additional security checks when entering the stadium for this fixture. Please arrive to the stadium earlier to give yourself enough time to get an additional security required before the turnstile. Please ensure you arrive with the correct ticket and ID if you are asked to prove your age at any point.

Supporters are reminded that is a criminal offence to enter the pitch at any time.

Please read all our safety regulations and information here.

MERCHANDISE

There will be plenty of options to pick up your Forest merchandise on matchday. The Megastore, situated on Pavilion Road just before the main entrance to the stadium, will be open from 9.00am on matchday until kick-off, closed for the duration of the game, and will open again for 45 minutes after the final whistle.

Be sure to wear your new shirt at the game to be in with a chance of winning one of our matchday prizes! Not purchased the shirt yet? Available online now or to purchase on the day across any of our stores.

Merchandise can also be purchased online here.

FANZONE

The Fanzone will be open from 12.30pm for this fixture, as well as after the game, offering supporters the chance to feel the atmosphere and excitement of the new season whilst having the chance to grab some street food from one of the vendors in our repurposed containers and drinks from our Carling branded bars.

Sam Hurst will be the host for interviews with supporters as well as our special guest Dele Adebola and we will also have an acoustic performance from one of our own, Louis Croft, whose catchy tunes caught the attention of Forest fans on X last season.

Our Fanzone based shop gives you the chance to pick up our new home and away kits whilst we also have a Brand-New Community Corner where supporters will have the chance to meet Robin the mascot, challenge their accuracy with our inflatable goal penalty challenge, and win prizes from the community raffle.

MATCHDAY TRAVEL

How to get to The City Ground

By train

Nottingham railway station has regular rail services from London, Birmingham, Derby, Leicester, Newark, Grantham, Worksop, Sheffield, Lincoln, and Peterborough. The station itself is roughly a 20-minute walk or ten-minute bus ride from The City Ground. When you head out of the train station turn left and walk all the way down until you cross the iconic Trent Bridge, and the stadium will be on your left.

By bus

The City Ground is serviced by several frequent services from across the Nottingham, with the Numbers 5-11 services likeliest to pick-up/drop closest to The City Ground in any direction.

By Tram

There are 7 park and ride sites across Nottingham, find out more about all of them here.

Fans can take the tram to Nottingham Train Station where the NET shuttle bus runs to The City Ground. This is a free service for anybody with a valid tram ticket.

By Car

The City Ground can be accessed quickly and easily from junctions 24 and 26 of the M1, depending on which direction you are departing from. Just remember to set your SatNav to NG2 5FJ.

From the north, leave the M1 at junction 26 and follow signs for Nottingham via the A610 Nuthall Road until you meet the A6514 at Western Boulevard. Turn right and follow the A6514 (‘the ring road south’) and join Middleton Boulevard, which becomes Clifton Boulevard after the Queens Medical Centre.

From the North

Turn right for Riverside P&R if you are heading for the Embankment, or Riverside Way Park & Ride, and follow signs for matchday parking. Continue around the ring road, carrying straight on at the Nottingham Knight Island and the Wheatcroft Island until you reach the Gamston Island. Take the first exit left onto the A6011 (‘Radcliffe Road’) and continue along the A6011 following the road as it bends to the right and continue over Lady Bay Bridge.

From the South

From the south, leave the M1 at junction 24 and follow the signs to join the A453 towards Nottingham and after passing through Clifton, continue on the A453 following signs for football and cricket traffic. Join the A52 eastbound towards Grantham and carry straight on at the Nottingham Knight Island and the Wheatcroft Island until you reach the Gamston Island. Take the first exit onto the A6011 (‘Radcliffe Road’) and continue along it, following the road as it bends to the right and continue over Lady Bay Bridge.

Parking

We have no onsite matchday parking available for tomorrow’s fixture but there is limited parking available at Nottinghamshire County Hall on Loughborough Road (NG2 7QP) charged at £10 and approximately a 5-minute walk from the City Ground.

Road Closures:

Lady Bay Bridge will be closed 15 minutes before full time and for 30 minutes after full time.

Colwick Road will be closed 1 hour before kick-off, opened during the match, and closed again 10 minutes before full time up until 30 minutes after full time.

Pavilion Road will be closed 1 hour before kick-off and closed throughout the match.

Trent Road – Closed 2 hours before kick-off, opened during the match and closed again 10 minutes before full time until 30 minutes after full time.

Vehicle access to the Brian Clough and East Car Park via Scarrington Road will not be permitted 30 minutes before kick-off. Please make sure to arrive early if you have reserved a parking space to prevent refusal of entry. We remind you that Nottingham Forest invites all supporters to enjoy the match in an all-inclusive environment.

Please consider all of those around you when standing and report to a steward if you see foul and abusive language, persistent standing, anti-social behaviour, or any discriminatory behaviour.

If you experience any of the above, please report it via text to 80800. Please start your text with the word FOREST and include the stand in which you are sitting.

We hope you enjoy the match...

COME ON YOU REDS!