Bournemouth kicks off its first European campaign at Spanish side Real Sociedad in the Europa League on Thursday.
Bournemouth enjoyed a record season to finish sixth in the Premier League and Marco Rose’s side hopes its opening European game in San Sebastian is a chance to put behind a slow and winless start to this campaign.
“We need to stay humble and concentrate on each game,” Bournemouth captain Adam Smith said. “But definitely our aim is to try to get as far as possible.”
Real Sociedad returns to Europe after a one-year absence. It qualified for the competition by claiming the Spanish Cup for the fourth time.
Another English club, Crystal Palace, opens its European campaign against Polish champion Lech Poznań after winning the third-tier Conference League last season.
In other games, Italian giant Juventus faces Dutch side Nijmegen, Besiktas hosts Marseille and Celtic plays Ferencváros in Glasgow.
The opening round of matches is split into two days.
On Wednesday, Benfica upset AC Milan 2-0 at San Siro, Sunderland beat visiting AZ Alkmaar 1-0 in its first European match since 1973 and Lyon won 2-1 at Anderlecht.
Elsewhere, Manchester City faces Championship-side Norwich to complete the third round of the League Cup in England.
In Spain, Real Betis meets Getafe and Malaga plays Villarreal in La Liga.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Brentford's Kevin Schade is challenged by Bournemouth's Tyler Adams, left, and Rayan during the English Premier League soccer match between Bournemouth and Brentford in Bournemouth, England, Saturday Sept. 12, 2026. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
SZENTENDRE, Hungary--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 17, 2026--
ABZ Innovation, a European developer and manufacturer of heavy-duty civilian drones for agricultural and industrial use, today officially opened its new manufacturing facility in Szentendre, Hungary — one of the largest dedicated civilian drone production sites in Europe.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260917072041/en/
The new facility is approximately four times larger than ABZ Innovation's previous production site, supporting a targeted threefold increase in production during 2026 alone, with a further doubling planned for 2027. This significantly expands ABZ Innovation's capacity to meet accelerating global demand for drone-based automation in agriculture and industry. ABZ Innovation's drone systems are currently deployed in more than 40 countries across six continents, supporting precision spraying, seed and fertilizer spreading, industrial cleaning, and cargo operations.
The opening reflects the sheer scale of demand across ABZ Innovation's platform. The L-Series continues to lead in precision agriculture, cutting water usage by up to 90% and chemical inputs by up to 50% compared with conventional spraying methods. Meanwhile, the C-Series has emerged as the company's fastest-growing line as industrial operators turn to drone-based cleaning over slower, manual alternatives.
Agricultural and industrial automation is entering a new era. We are building not just drones, but a European platform designed for mission-critical civilian operations — with full data sovereignty and the after-sales infrastructure that professional users need to operate at scale." — Károly Ludvigh, CEO & Co-Founder, ABZ Innovation
The Szentendre facility becomes ABZ Innovation's global production hub, supporting the continued growth of the company's four product series: L-Series precision spraying drones, S-Series granule and seed spreading systems, C-Series high-pressure industrial cleaning drones, and M-Series multifunctional cargo platforms. ABZ Innovation's products are CE certified, FCC compliant, and EU C4 (M-Series) and C5 (C-Series) certified, and the company operates under ISO 9001 certified quality management.
The company has been recognized with the Fruit Logistica Innovation Award for the L50 agricultural spraying drone, the CONSTRUMA Award for the C10 industrial cleaning drone, the Special Prize in Domestic Product Development at AGROmashEXPO for the C10, and its L30 LiDAR technology was recognized at the 33rd Hungarian Innovation Grand Prize. In January 2026, ABZ Innovation closed a €7 million investment round supported by Vsquared Ventures, Day One Capital and Assembly Ventures, funding manufacturing expansion and international market development.
About ABZ Innovation
ABZ Innovation is a European developer and manufacturer of heavy-duty action drones for agricultural and industrial applications. Based in Szentendre, Hungary, the company builds high-performance drone systems for spraying, spreading, cleaning and specialized industrial tasks, prioritizing reliability, serviceability and full data sovereignty. Operating in more than 40 countries through a global distributor and service partner network, ABZ Innovation supports customers with professional training, spare parts supply and long-term operational support. For more information: www.abzinnovation.com.
ABZ Innovation's L50 precision spraying drone, Europe's first 50-liter LiDAR-based agricultural drone, winner of the Fruit Logistica Innovation Award.
ABZ Innovation's C10 high-pressure industrial cleaning drone, EU C5 certified for professional operation.
ABZ Innovation's new manufacturing facility in Hungary — one of the largest dedicated civilian drone production sites in Europe.
