In a society where sports, mostly football, has billions of pounds being pumped into teams, it is hard to find a club that isn’t being run like a business, but AFC Wimbledon has been raised as a fans’ club and that’s why their story has captivated myself and football fans around the world. I think that nowadays football can sometimes be lost through sponsorship deals and overpriced transfers so this story really simplifies football and puts it into perspective that it’s not necessarily the big money owners that make football. It’s us that keeps this beautiful game flowing and since this topic is quite relevant at the moment seeing as football will be returning without fans due to the Covid-19 we will see in the course of the next few months that football is nothing without the fans.
In the 2002/03 season Wimbledon FC played Watford away. The EFL had granted Wimbledon permission to move to Milton Keynes in what was meant to be ‘a move for the wider interests of football’. The owners wanted to relocate to enable a bigger support group creating a franchise like we see so many times in America (ruining it for the fans who live over 70 miles away in Wimbledon’s case). So with the announcement already turning all their fans in Wimbledon into sworn enemies of the club that it would become, the away fans at Watford were from Milton Keynes, holding up a sign saying “We are MK Dons”. This disgusted even the home fans at Watford, let alone the Wimbledon fans sitting at home wondering what had happened to their local club.
Fans were beside themselves with the thought of not supporting their local team anymore just like every football fan should. So they decided to take matters into their own hands and began to form a new, innovative, forward thinking club. Over the next couple of weeks trials kicked off in local parks as a group of middle age men with no experience whatsoever created AFC Wimbledon. A club that stood for the fans. Their name AFC meaning ‘A fans club’. They rented a stadium and started off in the eighth tier of English football. This club, unlike their counterparts in Milton Keynes, was based on community, with every fan owning equal shares, very similar to Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid which are owned by socios (partners).
Fast track to the year of 2011 and AFC Wimbledon were in the fifth tier, one promotion away from the Football League. Having reached the play-off final it was their chance to secure their fans a place back in League Two. The game ended in penalties with the Dons’ 19-year old keeper, Seb Brown, saving two penalties. Wimbledon’s captain, Danny Kedwell stepped up and fired it into the back of the net, sending The Dons into League Two gaining professional status. It had taken 9 years for a fan owned club to reach the Football League. The entire footballing world rejoiced and marvelled at this beautiful fairytale.
The final piece of the jigsaw was placed when Dons beat Milton Keynes. The day came in the Autumn of 2014 when they defeated their hated rivals 3-2. The fans sang their chant, “show me the way to Plough Lane”, their old stadium from 1912-98.
Playing in League Two, the Dons finished 17th in the 2015/16 season. They reached the play-off final, history repeating itself. However, this time a promotion would mean climbing to the third tier in English Football. So, on a warm afternoon in May, AFC Wimbledon played Plymouth Argyle in a game that I myself attended. A buzz was definitely in the air. After a stalemate first half the Dons scored in the 78th minute. With over 5 added minutes of stoppage time the Dons fans and I were biting our nails in anguish, but oh boy when a Wimbledon player was fouled just inside the box the sudden excited and skittish shouts of “ref!” and “pen!” rang around Wembley. The referee pointed to the spot and I watched every Wimbledon player sink to the floor and punch the air in relief. Everyone in the crowd already knew the player that would take that penalty. Akinfenwa stepped up, sent the keeper in the opposite direction and reeled away to celebrate with us. The deep shout of “beaassstttt” must have terrified the Plymouth Argyle fans as they trundled down out of the stadium, deflated by this team so full of love and passion.
Wimbledon, currently in their 4th season in League One are matching Milton Keynes, having proved money doesn’t always buy success.
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