Wimbledon's way to winning

For diehard football fans, a club’s name is a part of their identity, and they would be lost without it.

In Australia, we are used to our sport being served to us in franchises, moving around like pieces on a chessboard, coming and going like a train.

While there was controversy when Fitzroy Football Club was merged with the Brisbane Bears, it is nothing compared to the story of AFC Wimbledon. In European football, a club is not associated with a city; a city is associated with a club.

Wimbledon Football Club was founded in 1889 and was always a small club in terms of their fanbase. They were founded in south London, so they were always under the shadow of their much richer rivals, Chelsea Football Club.

In 1979, when Wimbledon’s then owner identified that the club’s stadium and location was inadequate to his vision, they began looking at a relocating to Dublin. This was eventually blocked the Irish Football Association, for fears it would cause Irish football fans to lose interest in their national league.

With the failure of the deal, Norwegian record label owner, Peter Winkleman, began an aggressive bid backed by Ikea and Wal-Mart (which had plans to open stores near a new stadium) to bring Wimbledon FC to the Hobart-sized city of Milton Keynes.

This caused a vigorous protest from the Wimbledon faithful to keep one of their most treasured parts of their identity.

As many Australian football fans do, I support three teams, the Socceroos, my local team (Perth Glory) and a team from Europe (Arsenal).

Although I do feel a connection with Arsenal, due to having family who have grown up supporting the club in London, I do not feel as if it makes up as much of my identity as it once did. T

hat gap has been filled by Perth Glory. There is something special about watching about the sensation of watching a West Australian team succeed, that reaches excitement levels watching a team playing 14,470 kilometres away could not.

Glory supporters celebrate a goal. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

In September 2003, Wimbledon FC played their first match in Milton Keynes, before later renaming the club MK Dons.

The year before, a new club in Wimbledon was formed. While drowning their sorrows in the same bar once used by Wimbledon FC as a changing room, a group of fans decided to start again. AFC Wimbledon was formed.

In an interview for the American soccer YouTube channel ‘Kick TV’, AFC Wimbledon co-founder Trevor Williams was asked about the Milton Keynes move.

“At the end of the season the members got a letter from the club saying we had moved to Milton Keynes,” he said. “Us as supporters felt we had two options. Go over to Milton Keynes, or start again”.

In 2002 the newly formed AFC Wimbledon announced a new kit and stadium. They also began open trials that year, turning the park where they were held into a scene reminiscent of the streets of Beijing.

AFC Wimbledon played their first match as a newly formed football club, bringing an attendance of 5,000 people to the game, in a league that averaged 50.

Since coming into existence, AFC Wimbledon has achieved six promotions in sixteen years with no relegations (yet, they are rooted to 24th in League 1 at the moment), have become a fixture in the English Football League, and have plans to move to a stadium that can fit 11,000 die-hard Wimbledon supporters.

Who knows what is in store for the club, on Wimbledon’s way to winning?