By Kirsty Warwick
Can you support the team even if you don’t watch the beautiful game? It’s something I wonder when I think about our local football team AFC Wimbledon. I’m not really a football fan at all – I do watch England matches out of national pride and have been to Plough Lane for a match – but tennis and F1 are more my thing. But I do take great pride in the presence of a local team [many close friends and my brother-in-law are long-standing Womble season ticket holders] and I still recall Wimbledon’s shock FA Cup win in 1988; although it might have more to do with remembering my mum had to pick up her new car from the Renault garage in Wimbledon before the game ended in case – win or lose – fans went on the rampage.
But there’s something to be said for what a local team installs in the local community which for me is key. A football ground has stood in Plough Lane for more than a century since Wimbledon first came to the ground in 1912 until its last game in 1991 in a shocking move that saw the club and name move 60 miles up north.
“I think what happened to the club is one of the worst things in the history of English football, but the way the community has shown resilience ever since is a huge inspiration to me,” says John Green, Fault in Our Stars author and Dons Trust
Like a Phoenix from the ashes 23 years ago (on 10 Feb 2002 to be exact) when fans came together to resurrect the club, AFC Wimbledon and The Dons Trust were born. Hard campaigning and financial backing meant nearly 20 years later the team returned back to its roots in a new ground just metres from the old in November 2020. And the team has worked its way back up to League Two since 2021/22 and currently stands in the promotion zone as I write this.
But it’s not only the playing and symbolism of a ground on home soil that makes a team. For me it’s the resilience, determination and community spirit that have been born from the challenges the team faced. And never more so than in the years and months leading up to the ground reopening. It’s hard to believe it’s nearly five years since Cherry Red Records Stadium opened during Covid times with its first match behind closed doors and playing to empty stands. But it’s in the months leading up to that point, when fans really showed why we’re proud to be Wombles. Mobilising support during lockdown to support those in need with food, furniture and IT equipment was nothing short of extraordinary and as Dons Local Action Group (DLAG) turns 5 in March, the good they’ve done, and continue to do, is never more evident. Just last month after the Wimbledon game versus Cheltenham was cancelled, DLAG volunteers sprang into action to ensure none of the prepared food went to waste. Food was collected and distributed by Tooting Community Kitchen, PINT (People In Need Today) and Sutton Community Champions – all within just two hours of the postponement. This partnership has been a cornerstone of DLAG’s ability to deliver significant impact across South West London, contributing food for 6.5 million meals, providing 3,700 laptops, and distributing thousands of items of furniture, and now musical instruments, to those in need; all with an army of dedicated local volunteers.
And it’s not just AFC Wimbledon that’s an example of a fan-owned club. Wrexham FC owned by Wrexham Supporters Trust, and one of a handful of Welsh teams in the English Football League, hit the headlines when certain wealthy Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney invested in the failing team (9 Feb 2021) and boosted the city and local community too in the process. A Disney+ three season docuseries has also helped but it’s clear that the interest and investment in the club, The Racecourse ground, the Turf pub and the whole community has transformed the area and put them on the map globally. AFC’s very own Ollie Palmer moved to the team for the 2022/23 season so you could say there’s a bit of Womble in Wales too.
And finally, through my work (in the charity sector) I’ve heard of how football is also being used to make a difference for young people elsewhere in London. Camden United FC was set up by Abdulaziz Munye and Hamid Ali as a club by young people for young people in Camden following tragic events there. They recognised how the love of the game could be used to improve youth safety and ensure an avenue for young people in Camden away from gang culture, knife crime, and as a support for mental health. And back in Wimbledon, the AFC Wimbledon Foundation charity makes a positive difference investing in our local community to inspire active lifestyles for local children, improve the lives of older people and champion sustainable sports opportunities for women and girls.
So whilst they still invest in the local community and do good, I’ll carry on supporting the beautiful game in Wimbledon.
COYD!