football baseball club
AFC Wimbledon is an english professional football club, based in Merton, London, which has played in League One, the third tier of the English football league system, since winning promotion in 2016. The golf club ‘s dwelling stadium is Plough Lane.
Reading: AFC Wimbledon – Wikipedia
The club was founded in 2002 by former supporters of Wimbledon F.C. after the Football Association allowed that golf club to relocate to Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, about 60 miles ( 97 kilometer ) north of Wimbledon. Most of the Wimbledon F.C. supporters were identical strongly opposed to moving the golf club so far away from Wimbledon, feeling that a club transplanted to a aloof location would no longer represent Wimbledon or the club ‘s historic bequest and custom. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] Wimbledon F.C. moved in 2003 and formally changed the name of the club to Milton Keynes Dons in 2004. [ 3 ] [ 5 ] When AFC Wimbledon was formed, it affiliated to both the London and Surrey Football Associations, and entered the Premier Division of the Combined Counties League, the ninth tier of English football. The club has since been promoted six times in 13 seasons, going from the ninth grade ( combine Counties Premier ) to the third ( League One ). AFC Wimbledon presently hold the record for the longest unbeaten melt of league matches in English senior football, having played 78 consecutive league games without a get the better of between February 2003 and December 2004. [ 6 ] They are the first base clubhouse formed in the twenty-first hundred to make it into the Football League. [ 7 ] The baseball club was initially based at Kingsmeadow, a ground bought from and then shared with Isthmian League cabaret Kingstonian F.C. until 2017, and with Chelsea F.C. Women from 2017. In November 2020, the clubhouse moved to Plough Lane, a fresh stadium on the web site of the defunct Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, merely 250 yards away from the original Plough Lane, Wimbledon F.C. ‘s home until 1991. The new stadium has an initial capacity of 9,215, [ 8 ] with the option of expansion to a maximal 20,000 at a late date. [ 9 ] [ 10 ]
history
foundation
On 28 May 2002, the Football Association approved a decision by a three-person arbitration commission they had appointed to allow Wimbledon F.C. to relocate north to the new town of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire ; a decision influenced, among other factors, by claims from Wimbledon chair Charles Koppel that such a motion was necessity in order to prevent the club from going bankrupt. [ 11 ] Although the absence of a ground in Milton Keynes meet Football League criteria meant that the club were unable to physically move for over a class, major unionize protests at the decision continued to be held by Wimbledon ‘s traditional local corroborate and a boycott of the club ‘s home matches at Selhurst Park meant attendances dwindled immediately. [ 12 ] Following the F.A. ‘s announcement of their decision, a group of Wimbledon supporters led by Kris Stewart and fellow founding members Marc Jones and Trevor Williams met in The Fox and Grapes pub on Wimbledon Common to plan what was to be done adjacent as contribution of the protest. It was agreed that as there was no right of invoke, the only choice was to start the cabaret again from chicken feed. On 30 May 2002 the estimate was put ahead in a Wimbledon Independent Supporters ‘ Association meet to create a new community-based club named AFC Wimbledon and an solicitation for funds was launched. [ 13 ] [ 14 ] On 13 June 2002, a newly director, a play deprive and badge based on that of the original Wimbledon FC, and a stadium were unveiled to fans and the media at the packed-out Wimbledon Community Centre. [ 15 ] In order to assemble a competitive team at very short comment, AFC Wimbledon held player trials on 29 June 2002 on Wimbledon Common, open to any unattached musician who felt he was good enough to try out for the team. [ 16 ] The event attracted 230 hopeful players, from whom the club ‘s team for their inaugural temper was finally chosen. [ 14 ]
For a statistical breakdown by season, see List of AFC Wimbledon seasons
Combined Counties League ( 2002–2004 )
In the 2002–03 season, AFC Wimbledon competed in the blend Counties League Premier Division under the management of early Wimbledon F.C. player Terry Eames, who was appointed on 13 June 2002. [ 17 ] Their beginning ever bet on, a pre-season friendly against Sutton United on 10 July 2002, resulted in a 4–0 personnel casualty in front of a crowd of 4,657. [ 18 ] At the end of their debut season, AFC Wimbledon finished third in the league and narrowly failed to win promotion to the Isthmian League First Division, despite a potent goal to the season that involved winning their final 11 league fixtures. [ 19 ] In 2003–04, AFC Wimbledon won their first 21 league games before a 2–2 drawing card against Sandhurst Town on 10 January 2004, giving them 32 consecutive wins in league games over two seasons. Manager Terry Eames was suspended on 13 February 2004 and sacked five days late on the grounds of arrant misbehave, after evidence was produced which showed him to have first made unauthorized and untrue representations to a number of the coach staff, second, that he had falsely inform members of the coach staff that the clubhouse had decided not to support his plans for young person football and required him to make contiguous budgetary cut-backs and third that he dispensed with the services of members of the coach staff citing false reasons. [ 20 ] Assistant coach Nick English took charge with immediate impression. The team went on to finish as champions of the Combined Counties League with an unbeaten commemorate for the season of 42 wins and four draw. [ 21 ] AFC Wimbledon besides won the league ‘s Premier Challenge Cup after beating North Greenford United 4–1 in the Final on 30 April 2004, completing a double for the season. [ 22 ]
isthmian League ( 2004–2008 )
Dave Anderson was appointed as new director on 11 May 2004. [ 23 ] Under his leadership AFC Wimbledon took their good mannequin into the 2004–05 season during which they competed in the Isthmian League First Division — they remained top of the class for the duration of the season, and were convincing title-winners, sealing promotion to the League ‘s Premier Division. The Dons secured another doubly by defeating Walton & Hersham 2–1 in the Final of the Surrey Senior Cup on 3 May 2005. [ 24 ] Over the path of the season, AFC Wimbledon set a newfangled record for the longest discharge of unbeaten league games at any level of aged football in the United Kingdom. [ 6 ] The team remained unbeaten for 78 league matches between 22 February 2003 ( a 2–0 kill at home to Withdean 2000 ) and 4 December 2004 ( a 2–0 defeat at Cray Wanderers ). [ 25 ] The 2005–06 season proved far more competitive than former seasons – as after winning their first few games, AFC Wimbledon found themselves struggling to remain in the play-off places. After fluctuating form they finally reached the play-offs after a 1–0 gain against Anderson ‘s former clubhouse, Hendon, on 22 April 2006. [ 26 ] however, a 2–1 get the better of at Fisher Athletic on 2 May 2006 prevented the club from achieving three back-to-back promotions. [ 27 ] The Dons once again reached the final of the Surrey Senior Cup, however, this prison term they were narrowly defeated 1–0 by Kingstonian in a ferociously contested bowler hat. [ 28 ] a lot of the 2006–07 season was overshadowed by the terror of a proposed 18-point tax write-off by the FA for the club ‘s field of Jermaine Darlington who, it transpired, had not been registered correctly by the club and had therefore played in three games whilst even formally ineligible. [ 29 ] however, this punishment was finally reduced to a three-point deduction and a £400 fine on appeal, after the FA finally acknowledged that the club had made a bare administrative error. [ 30 ] The ‘Darlington matter ‘ besides resulted in expulsion from the Surrey Senior Cup and the FA Trophy that class. Although AFC Wimbledon did enough to qualify for the play-offs, they once again missed out on promotion, this time as a consequence of losing 1–0 to Bromley in the play-off semi-final on 1 May 2007. [ 31 ] Manager Dave Anderson subsequently left the golf club by reciprocal consent on 2 May 2007. [ 32 ] Terry Brown was appointed as the raw AFC Wimbledon director on 15 May 2007. [ 33 ] During 2007–08, he led the club to promotion to the Conference South in his foremost season in mission, a feat which harbinger Dave Anderson had proved unable to achieve, having lost two consecutive play-off concluding opportunities in the previous two seasons. The Dons made steady progress throughout the season, qualifying for the play-offs after finishing third base in the League. AFC Wimbledon beatnik AFC Hornchurch 3–1 in the play-off semi-final on 29 April 2008 [ 34 ] and went on to triumph 2–1 over Staines Town in the play-off final on 3 May 2008. [ 35 ]
The Conference ( 2008–2011 )
AFC Wimbledon spent most of the 2008–09 season near the lead of the league mesa, finally finishing as champions and earning promotion to the Conference Premier after defeating St Albans City 3–0 on 25 April 2009. [ 36 ] The match set an attendance criminal record of 4,722 for Kingsmeadow stadium, which at that clock time was full moon capacity. [ 37 ] The 2009–10 temper was the club ‘s beginning in the Conference Premier. Overall the Dons finished eighth, 14 points light of the play-off zone. This was the beginning temper in which the club had failed to make the exceed five in the league table. [ 38 ] In 2010–11 AFC Wimbledon finished as runner-up of the Conference Premier, qualifying for the play-offs. The Dons faced one-fifth placed Fleetwood Town in the play-off semi-finals, whom they went on to thrash 8–1 on aggregate. [ 39 ] This aggregate scoreline set a record as the largest winning margin recorded since the Conference Premier first introduced the play-off system at the beginning of the 2002–03 season. In the play-off final at the City of Manchester Stadium on 21 May 2011, in front of a crowd of 18,195, AFC Wimbledon beat Luton Town 4–3 in a penalty shoot-out, after the match had ended 0–0 in extra fourth dimension. [ 40 ] The victory resulted in forwarding to the Football League and represented the golf club ‘s fifth promotion in nine years. The club ‘s accomplishment of attaining League condition after equitable nine seasons of being is considered to be one of the fastest ascents for a new club since automatic promotion to the Football League first commenced in the 1980s. [ 25 ] AFC Wimbledon besides hold the read of being the first club to be formed in the twenty-first century to make it into the Football League, making them the youngest cabaret in the Football League by some distance. [ 7 ]
League Two ( 2011–2016 )
The 2011–12 season saw AFC Wimbledon ‘s forwarding to League Two. The team started the season well, winning seven out of their beginning 12 matches, but failed to keep the momentum going and had a inadequate run, finally finishing the temper ranked 16th, 10 points clear of the relegation partition .
AFC Wimbledon ‘s rapid rise through the English football league system between 2002 and 2019. It took the club merely 14 years to progress from the 9th tier to the 3rd. The 2012–13 political campaign marked the tenth anniversary of AFC Wimbledon ‘s inauguration season. After an abysmal starting signal to the season, director Terry Brown was sacked on 19 September 2012 along with adjunct director Stuart Cash, with AFC Wimbledon sitting just above the delegating zone. [ 41 ] First team coach Simon Bassey took over as caretaker director with immediate effect. Bassey was in charge just four matches, however, before early Wimbledon player Neal Ardley was appointed as Terry Brown ‘s permanent successor on 10 October 2012, naming erstwhile Watford and Cardiff City teammate Neil Cox as his adjunct coach. [ 42 ] On 2 December 2012, AFC Wimbledon faced Milton Keynes Dons in the second gear orotund of the FA Cup, in the first ever meet between the two sides following the move of Wimbledon F.C. to Milton Keynes, with the match ending as a 2–1 get the better of for AFC Wimbledon. [ 43 ] The Dons secured their Football League status on the final day of the 2012–13 season, despite having started the day in the relegation zone, by beating Fleetwood Town 2–1 at Kingsmeadow on 27 April 2013. [ 44 ] In the 2013–14 season, a equal involving AFC Wimbledon was at the center of a fail match-fixing diagram. concisely after the clubhouse ‘s 1–0 loss against Dagenham & Redbridge on 26 November 2013, businessmen Krishna Ganeshan and Chann Sankaran and three Whitehawk players— Michael Boateng, Moses Swaibu and Hakeem Adelakun—were charged with conspiracy to commit bribery over a fail plot to fix the crippled. [ 45 ] [ 46 ] [ 47 ] [ 48 ] Ganeshan, Sankaran and Boateng were convicted. [ 49 ] [ 50 ] The cabaret had a disappoint season overall, lone managing to replicate the 20th placed league ending of the season before after the club were docked three points for the ineligible field of Jake Nicholson after failing to obtain international clearance for him after he joined from scots Championship side Greenock Morton on 19 February 2014. [ 51 ] The 2014–15 season saw AFC Wimbledon face Milton Keynes Dons once again in a competitive repair on 12 August 2014 in the first beat of the Football League Cup, with MK Dons finally winning the catch 3–1. [ 52 ] The two sides met once again on 7 October 2014, with AFC Wimbledon achieving a first 3–2 gain over their rivals in the moment cycle of the Football League Trophy following a former goal from Adebayo Akinfenwa. [ 53 ] The Dons besides reached the FA Cup third round for the first gear clock time in their history on 5 January 2015, finally succumbing 2–1 to Liverpool with Steven Gerrard scoring both goals. [ 54 ] AFC Wimbledon finished the season in a mediocre 15th stead after a disappointing run of shape saw them finish the season without a win in their last eight league fixtures. The 2015–16 season was AFC Wimbledon ‘s fifth consecutive season in League Two. Despite getting the season off to a mediocre starting signal, the Dons finished the season strongly, winning seven out of their last 10 league matches to ensure that the club would confirm their highest ever League Two polish of one-seventh position and qualification to the 2016 Football League play-offs. [ 55 ] A criminal record home attendance of 4,870 turned out to see AFC Wimbledon beat Accrington Stanley 1–0 in the first leg of the play-off semi-final on 14 May 2016 ( precisely 28 years to the day since the original Wimbledon won the 1988 FA Cup Final against Liverpool ) following a dramatic extra time winner from academy product Tom Beere. [ 56 ] This goal ultimately proved to be the dispute between the two sides as AFC Wimbledon went on to win 3–2 on aggregate after a 2–2 draw in the reverse fastness. [ 57 ] This winnings earned them a place in the play-off final examination at Wembley Stadium against Plymouth Argyle. The regular was scheduled for 30 May 2016, precisely 14 years to the day since the club ‘s foundation garment. [ 14 ] AFC Wimbledon ultimately triumphed 2–0 on the day in front of a crowd of 57,956. [ 58 ]
League One ( 2016–present )
The 2016–17 season saw AFC Wimbledon compete in League One for the first fourth dimension in their history. They remained unbeaten in the South London bowler hat fixtures, recording two draws against Millwall, a home describe against Charlton Athletic, and a 2–1 away win at The Valley on 17 September 2016. [ 59 ] Promotion besides placed AFC Wimbledon in the lapp division as Milton Keynes Dons, who had simultaneously been relegated from the Championship. This ensured the golf club would face Milton Keynes Dons for the first time at Kingsmeadow which they did on 14 March 2017, going on to triumph 2–0. [ 60 ] The club ultimately finished 15th in the league, after a disappoint slump saw them win equitable five out of their survive 22 league matches between January and April. AFC Wimbledon made an evenly slow depart to the 2017–18 campaign, manage just five wins in their inaugural 20 league matches between August and December. On 3 December 2017, the club recorded a 3–1 win over South London bowler hat rivals Charlton Athletic in the second attack of the FA Cup. [ 61 ] The club were subsequently rewarded by being drawn away against Tottenham Hotspur in the third base turn with the couple being played at Wembley Stadium on 7 January 2018. On 13 December 2017, the golf club received a far boost after being granted permission to begin work on constructing a new 9,300-seater stadium ( which could be expanded to hold up to 20,000 in the future ) on the web site of Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium. The modern ground will be only 250 yards ( 230 molarity ) away from the original Plough Lane ( 1912–98 ), Wimbledon ‘s home from 1912 until 1991. [ 9 ] The baseball club was finally able to secure another season in League One with a draw in their penult game, meaning that for the first time, AFC Wimbledon would be playing in a higher division than the Milton Keynes Dons, who were relegated that season. [ 62 ] AFC Wimbledon saw a black start to the 2018–19 season, losing twelve of their first seventeen league games. Manager Neal Ardley departed the club by reciprocal agreement on 12 November 2018 after a tenure of 6 years, 1 calendar month, 2 days, making him the longest serve director to date. [ 63 ] One bright spotlight in their season was the clubhouse ‘s first ever appearance in the FA Cup 5th Round after beating West Ham United 4–2 in the 2018–19 FA Cup. On 4 December 2018, Glyn Hodges joined Wally Downes as AFC Wimbledon ‘s adjunct coach. [ 64 ] After being rooted to the buttocks of the table for most of 2019, they lost merely 1 of their survive 12 league games to lift them out of the relegation zone, ultimately staying up on goal remainder on the last sidereal day of the season after a 0–0 describe with already relegated Bradford City. [ 65 ] On 25 September 2019, Glyn Hodges took over the management of the first team on a irregular footing following the suspension of Wally Downes after being charged by the FA for betting misconduct. [ 66 ] The club ‘s youth coach, Mark Robinson, replaced Hodges on 30 January 2021, after a run of hapless results ; [ 67 ] Robinson turned the season around and the club avoided delegating on the second-last matchday. [ 68 ]
Season-by-season criminal record
Crest and colours
The cabaret peak, which is based on the coat of arms of the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon, features a black double headed eagle in reference point to a local anesthetic legend that Julius Caesar once made camp on Wimbledon Common, this symbol being his own impute coat of arms. [ citation needed ] The colours that were chosen for the AFC Wimbledon kit out were the royal blue and yellow traditionally associated with the ascend of the original Wimbledon F.C. to the top of the Football League ( rather than the dark dark blue blue sky and yellow that Wimbledon F.C. were wearing at the time, which had been a late adaptation in 1993 ). The first ever kit, which was used lone during the pre-season friendlies of 2002, consisted of a royal bluing shirt, white shorts and white socks. Since then, the home kit has always been predominantly all royal amobarbital sodium with jaundiced detailing. The away kit used between 2002 and 2004 was blank, however since then it has normally been predominantly scandalmongering with blue detailing. To mark their first base game in the Football League on 6 August 2011 against Bristol Rovers, the team wore a white and amobarbital sodium commemorative kit which was based on that worn by the original Wimbledon F.C. during 1977–78 in regulate to remember their own foremost temper as a member of the Football League in the old Fourth Division ( now League Two ). To prevent copyright misdemeanor, a individual aristocratic band replaced the three trade mark stripes of the Adidas original and the shirts were emblazoned with a limited peak for the affair. [ 69 ] On 14 May 2020 the club released a new, slenderly modified, official club cap to mark 32 years since Wimbledon ‘s 1988 FA Cup victory, equally well as the forthcoming open of the modern stadium at Plough Lane. [ 70 ]
AFC Wimbledon ‘s shirts have been sponsored by calculator games developers Sports Interactive since the club ‘s origin in 2002. The kit used by the club is presently manufactured by Puma. previous manufacturers have been Umbro ( 2002 ), Tempest Sports ( 2002-14 ), [ 73 ] [ 74 ] and admiral Sportswear ( 2014–17 ). [ 75 ] early club sponsors are Reston Waste, Cherry Red Records, and generator and YouTuber John Green. [ 76 ] [ 77 ]
mascot
In 2006, AFC Wimbledon introduced a new mascot to represent the club, a Womble known as “Haydon” after Haydons Road, the nearest railway post to both Wimbledon F.C. ‘s original home plate grind, Plough Lane ( 1912–98 ), and the stream Plough Lane. [ 78 ]
Rivalries
Milton Keynes Dons
The most obvious of AFC Wimbledon ‘s rivals are Milton Keynes Dons, the club which resulted from the resettlement of Wimbledon F.C. to Milton Keynes in 2003. [ 79 ] The two sides have met three times in cup competitions, all games at Milton Keynes, of which AFC Wimbledon have won one. Owing to MK Dons ‘ relegation from the Championship in the 2015–16 season, aboard AFC Wimbledon ‘s promotion from League Two, AFC Wimbledon and Milton Keynes Dons competed in the lapp league division for the first fourth dimension in the 2016–17 season. Both clubs won one and lost one in that season ‘s league matches .
Crawley Town
One of AFC Wimbledon ‘s chief rivals have been Crawley Town. [ 80 ] This is strictly due to their frequently fractious meetings at a non-league level since 2009. The two sides did not play each other between 2012 and 2015 ascribable to Crawley ‘s promotion to League One. however Crawley ‘s relegation during the 2014–15 Football League One season meant the two sides played each other on 15 August 2015 which the Dons won 2–1 after going a finish down. Since Wimbledon ‘s 2016 promotion into League One, they have met equitable once competitively in the 2nd round of the 2020/2021 Emirates FA Cup with Crawley Town winning 2–1 .
Sutton United
AFC Wimbledon have never shared a league with Sutton United, but due to the geographic proximity the two clubs parcel a friendly competition. Sutton were the inaugural team to play the reform Dons on 10 July 2002, defeating them 4–0 at Gander Green Lane. [ 81 ] Before they met in the FA Cup in 2017, the most holocene competitive match between the two sides was in the 2013 Surrey Senior Cup semi-final at Gander Green Lane on 11 April 2013, a game which Sutton won 5–2. [ 82 ] The clubs played each other in the third base round of the FA Cup on 7 January 2017, which resulted in a 0–0 draw. [ 83 ] The replay took identify at Kingsmeadow on 17 January 2017, with Sutton winning 3–1. [ 84 ]
stadium
Plough Lane
Since its origin in 2002, AFC Wimbledon had stated that one of its elementary aims was to return to Merton, with a new stadium close to what it regards as its “ spiritual home ” of the original Plough Lane, where the original Wimbledon F.C. had played for over 80 years. This aim formed the footing of a project to create a new purpose-built stadium on the site of the Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, located on Plough Lane approximately 250 yards from where the previous football stadium had stood. Plans to develop the greyhound stadium site as either a multi-purpose stadium or as a football stadium were publicised frequently by the baseball club and the media prior to 2013. In 2013 AFC Wimbledon announced that discussions were afoot with Merton Council over a joint bid for the greyhound stadium and surrounding domain, in cooperation with developer Galliard Homes, to build a new football stadium, 600 residential units and a wide stove of shops and community facilities. [ 85 ] The plans for the football stadium were approved unanimously by Merton Council on 10 December 2015. [ 86 ] [ 87 ] clearance of the web site in formulation for the new football stadium and house was begun on 16 March 2018. [ 88 ] The stadium ‘s opening was initially planned for summer 2019, however, delays have caused the approximate completion date to moved to 25 October 2020. [ 89 ] The land ‘s freehold was transferred to an AFC Wimbledon auxiliary on 24 December 2018, among other transactions that besides formally transferred possession of Kingsmeadow to Chelsea. [ 90 ]
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Wimbledon played the first four home matches of the 2020–21 season at Loftus Road whilst Plough Lane was being completed. [ 91 ] The club played its first gear equal at Plough Lane on the evening of 3 November 2020 with a 2–2 draw against Doncaster Rovers. [ 92 ]
Loftus Road
AFC Wimbledon started the 2020–21 temper at Loftus Road after agreeing a irregular groundshare agreement with Queens Park Rangers. They played four league games at the ground before departing at the end of October .
Kingsmeadow
The club played at the 4,850 capability Kingsmeadow [ 94 ] in Kingston upon Thames until May 2020. Until 2017, AFC Wimbledon groundshared with Kingstonian with the Dons being the landlords and Kingstonian the tenants since the summer of 2003 ; before then the roles were reversed. In November 2015 AFC Wimbledon supporters voted to approve the betray of Kingsmeadow to Chelsea F.C. to help fund a plan new reason in Merton, [ 95 ] [ 96 ] On 13 December 2017, the condense was signed for the new stadium to be built, [ 97 ] with Kingstonian leaving the ground in 2017 as a result .
ground buy and debt
Upon their foundation in 2002, AFC Wimbledon entered into a ground–sharing arrangement with Kingstonian to play home fixtures at Kingsmeadow in the neighbor borough of Kingston upon Thames. After Kingstonian entered government to avoid bankruptcy and lost the Kingsmeadow rent in October 2001. It was assigned in April 2002 by the administrators to a place developer, Rajesh Khosla, who was besides by then owner of the clubhouse. After an SGM, it was felt by the AFC Wimbledon board of directors that securing ownership of Kingsmeadow would safeguard the labor for the future of both clubs. In March 2003 the Dons Trust members voted to purchase part of the lease for Kingsmeadow and in June 2003 the compress for buying the lease to the stadium was agreed with Rajesh Khosla ; [ 98 ] £3 million needed to be raised. AFC Wimbledon were already sub-tenants at Kingsmeadow, before raising £2.4 million to buy the lease from Khosla in June 2003, with a view to making Kingsmeadow their home. Kingstonian secured a 25-year sub-tenancy agreement with AFC Wimbledon, with accustomed break clauses. The clubs operated a ground-sharing agreement, with Kingstonian receiving preferentially bum rental terms. [ 99 ]
expansion
At the end of the 2011–12 season, AFC Wimbledon commenced sour on building a new 1,000 capability all-seater stand to replace the existing Kingston Road End. This was completed by 13 October 2012 bet on against Cheltenham Town which saw an attendance of 4,409. [ 100 ] The modern stand was named the North Stand before being renamed The Nongshim Stand and in July 2015 the John Green Stand following sponsorship deals. The knead increased the stadium capacity to approximately 4,850 with 2,265 seats .
sale
In 2015, AFC Wimbledon agreed plans to sell Kingsmeadow to Chelsea in order to help finance their plans to move to a new stadium in Merton. Chelsea ‘s intention was to use the grind for their own youth and women ‘s teams and were not bequeath to accommodate Kingstonian. This was met with protests from Kingstonian fans, as the club would be left without a home ground of their own. [ 101 ] [ 102 ] [ 103 ] [ 104 ] Since the sale, Kingstonian have had to groundshare with Leatherhead and then Corinthian-Casuals. [ 105 ] AFC Wimbledon departed Kingsmeadow in May 2020. [ 106 ]
ownership and legal condition
AFCW plc was placed under the possession of The Dons Trust, a supporters ‘ group which is pledged to retain at least 75 % control of that ownership. In 2003 a minority pastime was sold in a partake emergence in club to finance the purchase of Kingsmeadow ; given the circumstances of the club ‘s constitution, this decision raised concerns among some members but was promptly accepted. [ citation needed ] The Dons Trust is an industrial and provident society registered with the Financial Services Authority as “ Wimbledon Football Club Supporters ‘ society Limited ”. This is not to be confused with Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association ( WISA ) although WISA has as one of its submit built-in aims “ to purchase shares in AFC Wimbledon ‘s holding ship’s company ”. The original headman executive was Erik Samuelson, a put out accountant, who carried out his full-time duties in refund for the nominal sum of one guinea fowl a class, because “ it sounded classy than a pound ”. [ 107 ] Samuelson retired in 2019 ; [ 108 ] he was replaced by the clubhouse ‘s former COO, Joe Palmer. [ 109 ]
Community work
The club places great stress on its function as a sociable focus for the integral local community, and part of this role is to offer the casual to play football to all. For this reason AFC Wimbledon established the Community Football Scheme ( CFS ) in 2004. On 1 May 2010, AFC Wimbledon ‘s Community Football Scheme was awarded the FA Charter Standard Community Club Award, the highest graded award attainable in the FA Charter Standard Club Programme, in recognition of the clubhouse ‘s outstanding coach facilities in the local anesthetic residential district. The club offer a number of different football courses open to children of any ability aged 4–14, who receive coaching from FA qualified coaches. The club draw a bead on to reach as many children as possible through their football and multi-sports program by having full of life links with their besiege boroughs, most notably Merton and Kingston, which has allowed them to become one of the main providers of sports coaching in their local community. [ 110 ] AFC Wimbledon besides offers a Schools Coaching Programme in Merton, Kingston and neighbouring boroughs. The club count to encourage a healthy and active life style for both Primary and Secondary school children through football and a compass of other sports. The sessions are run with an emphasis on learn, exploitation and health awareness in a fun coaching environment. On 15 March 2012, coaches from the CFS, in partnership with the Football League ‘s main presenter nPower, engaged in a community outreach dodge promoting the FA ‘s ‘Respect ‘ political campaign to school pupils. about 2,000 children aged 10 and 11 were teach how abusive verbal and physical demeanor on the lurch to both players and referees should never be tolerated under any circumstances. The purpose of the countrywide ‘Respect ‘ scheme in schools is to eradicate racism, homophobia, violence and dissent from the future genesis of footballers and supporters. [ 111 ] On 27 March 2012, AFC Wimbledon became the first gear football clubhouse to be presented with the Prime Minister ‘s big Society Award for outstanding contributions to the local anesthetic community. The baseball club was recognised for the honor because it offers a broad crop of community development schemes including 19 youth and women ‘s teams, school health and sport projects ( hundreds of children a week participate in the outreach scheme provided ) and a range of advanced activities, including a stadium educate to help children get to grips with maths by using football as a teach help. [ 112 ] Congratulating AFC Wimbledon on receiving the award, then Prime Minister David Cameron said :
The team behind AFC Wimbledon have not merely given fans a local club to support, but much more than this, they have united a community, given them the casual to have a real stake in their club ‘s future and made a huge difference to the lives of many people in the area at the same time. Football is a team game, and AFC Wimbledon have shown good what can happen when people do n’t precisely sit on the sidelines, but choose to get involve and truly pull together – a bang-up example of the Big Society. Congratulations to AFC Wimbledon and all their fans and supporters whose determination and devotion has created a community-owned clubhouse that has gone from military capability to lastingness. [ 113 ]
Accepting the award, Erik Samuelson, chief executive of AFC Wimbledon stated :
This club ‘s achievements show that a co-operatively owned football golf club can be faithful to its high ethical standards, keep a bang-up concenter on community involvement, be financially sustainable – and still be successful on the pitch. Everyone who has contributed to the club ‘s success and this award should be very gallant .Erik Samuelson, statement on the Number 10 official website[114]
A group formed by the baseball club ‘s fans, the Dons Local Action Group, stepped up during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, ensuring community members were distributed sufficient food and that students locked down at family had the engineering they needed to keep up with classes. [ 115 ]
Players
current team
- As of 27 November 2021[ quotation needed]
note : Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .
Out on loan
note : Flags indicate home team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .
For youth teams see AFC Wimbledon Development Squad and Academy.
actor of the year, club captains and top scorers
The following postpone shows players who have previously been selected to be club captain, have been The Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association ( WISA ) player of the year and have been the player who scored the most league goals in a season ( including penalties ) in chronological regulate :
Most league appearances and goals
For a list of all AFC Wimbledon players who hold appearance or goal-scoring records see List of AFC Wimbledon records and statistics.
celebrated former players
For a list of all AFC Wimbledon players with articles on Wikipedia, see class : AFC Wimbledon players
Wimbledon Old Players Association
As function of WISA ‘s campaign to try and reclaim the history of Wimbledon Football Club, the Wimbledon Old Players Association ( WOPA ) was formed in 2005. membership of WOPA is open to all former Wimbledon F.C. and AFC Wimbledon players and managers. Among the sixty founding members were Glenn Mulcaire, who scored AFC Wimbledon ‘s first gear always goal in 2002 [ 117 ] and Kevin Cooper, who remains the golf club ‘s all-time highest goal scorer with 107 goals between August 2002 and May 2004, equally good as retaining the title for the most goals scored in a season with 66 during 2003–04. Others that joined included some of the legends of the old Wimbledon F.C. such as John Fashanu, Dave Beasant, Efan Ekoku, Neil Sullivan, Dave Bassett, Wally Downes, Marcus Gayle, Neal Ardley, Alan Kimble, Andy Thorn, Roger Joseph, Dickie Guy, Allen Batsford, Roger Connell, Ian Cooke, Roy Law and Steve Galliers. [ 118 ] On 16 July 2006, WOPA fielded a team in the Masters Football Tournament at Wembley Arena, with AFC Wimbledon ‘s back. [ 119 ] The team included Carlton Fairweather, Scott Fitzgerald, Marcus Gayle, and Dean Holdsworth. In June 2010, Vinnie Jones, another early musician of Wimbledon F.C., donated his 1988 FA Cup winners medal to the fans of AFC Wimbledon. The decoration is on display at Kingsmeadow .
management
stream management and coach staff
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current academy and youth exploitation staff
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managerial history
- As of 30 January 2021.
These statistics incorporate results for league matches ( including Play-off matches ) and results in all major League Cup competitions ( including the unite Counties League Premier Challenge Cup, the Isthmian League Cup, the Conference League Cup, the Football League Cup and the Football League Trophy ) arsenic well as results in the FA Vase, the FA Trophy and the FA Cup .
* Terry Eames was suspended as manager on 13th February for disciplinary reasons, but was not officially dismissed until 18th February 2004. The internal club hearing investigated three charges against Eames; that he made unauthorised and untrue representations to a number of the coaching staff, that he falsely informed members of the coaching staff that the club had decided not to support his plans for youth football and required him to make immediate budgetary cut-backs, and that he dispensed with the services of members of the coaching staff citing falsified reasons. Following his suspension, the role was undertaken by his assistant Nicky English. [ 120 ] ** Wally Downes was suspended as manager on 25th September 2019 after he was charged by the Football Association over bets placed on games, with his assistant Glyn Hodges taking over his duties. Downes was not officially dismissed until 20th October 2019, when he was suspended by the FA after admitting breaching Football Association rules around betting. Hodges was then named his permanent replacement. [ 121 ]
Ladies
AFC Wimbledon Ladies switched affiliation from Wimbledon F.C. after the 2002–03 season. Chris Lyons is the coach and the team competes in the PL South East Division One. Wimbledon Ladies ‘ former actor Sophie Hosking won an Olympic gold decoration for Team GB in the women ‘s lightweight double sculls at the London 2012 games. Hosking continues to be an avid assistant of AFC Wimbledon and demonstrated as such when she painted her fingernails in the club ‘s imperial aristocratic and yellow colors for the Olympic final at Dorney Lake on 4 August 2012 .
Club honor
For a more detail account of the club ‘s records and statistics, see List of AFC Wimbledon records and statistics
- Statistics are correct as of 2 May 2009.[122]
League honours
Cups and Trophies
minor honours
Awards
- Big Society Award
- Winners: 2011–12[129]
- BBC London Sports Awards Team of the Year
- Winners (1): 2011–12
- BBC London Sports Awards Non-professional Team of the Year
- Winners (1): 2003–04 2008–09[130]
- FA Charter Standard Community Club Award
- Winners (1): 2009–10[131]
- Football League Family Excellence Award
- Winners (2): 2011–12[132] 2012–13[133]
- Football League Award for Community Promotion of the Girls/Kids Cup
- Winners (2): 2011–12[134] 2012–13[135]
- Football Conference Fair Play Award for Good Sportsmanship
- Winners (2): 2008–09[136] 2009–10[137]
- Isthmian League Fair Play Award for Good Sportsmanship
- Winners (1): 2007–08[138]
- Conference South Programme of the Year
- Winners (1): 2008–09[139]
- Isthmian League Programme of the Year
- Winners (1): 2007–08[138]
References
Read more: Cha Bum-kun – Wikipedia