AFC Wimbledon

English club founded by fans after the controversial move of the original Wimbledon FC to Milton Keynes, giving rise to MK Dons. One of the greatest cases of fan-led reconstruction in world football.

History

AFC Wimbledon was born in 2002, when fans of the old Wimbledon FC refused to accept the transfer of the franchise to Milton Keynes, a decision that resulted in the creation of MK Dons. A group of supporters founded a new club from scratch, starting in the ninth tier of English football, the Combined Counties League. In one of the most remarkable feats of British amateur and semi-professional football, the club achieved five promotions in nine seasons, reaching the Football League in 2011 after winning the Conference National playoff against Luton Town in Manchester. In 2016, the club surprised by rising to League One, competing for the first time in the third national division. Years later it faced relegation, but maintained the community identity that made it a symbol of fan resistance. In 2020, AFC Wimbledon finally returned to the historic Plough Lane ground, close to the original location of the extinct Wimbledon FC, ending a cycle of almost thirty years playing away from its neighbourhood.