Wimbledon

This is a little complicated…

There once was a club named Wimbledon FC that existed from 1889 until 2004 and played their games at a ground called Plough Lane in Wimbledon. They rose through the ranks, made the Football League in 1977, and then remarkably made the top division. They were founder members of the Premier League in 1992, won the FA Cup in 1988, and got relegated in 2000.

Then financial troubles came, and the owner decided to move the team. Americans read this and say, “Yeah, no big deal.” But to the English it was…well, there aren’t really words for it. Moving a team to another city had never happened before and hasn’t since.

But move they did, to Milton Keynes, itself a “new town,” and they changed their name to MK Dons. The league and FA opposed it, but some independent commission approved it—because, money—and then banned anyone from appealing their decision and strongly suggested that nobody try to resurrect the Wimbledon club. They famously used the phrase that such an action “wouldn’t be in the best interests of football.”

Thousands of Wimbledon supporters, and fans all over the country, basically told them all to, um, take a hike. And then they did something great: they started their own club! A few of them met at The Fox and Grapes Pub on Wimbledon Common, where the original club used to change for games. They selected a manager and designed uniforms based on the original. They had tryouts and picked a team from the 230 guys who showed up. They entered the Combined Counties Football League Premier Division; that would be tier 9 of the pyramid, where attendance averages about 50. Wimbledon averaged more than 3,000. The fans still own 75 percent of AFC Wimbledon.

At once, they started kicking ass and taking names. The first year, 2002–03, they won their last 11 games and finished third. The next year they won their first 21 (that’s 32 in a row!), then finished the season as unbeaten champions with 42 wins and four draws. They moved up a level to the Isthmian League First Division and led that wire to wire. Along the way they went unbeaten for 78 straight games (February 2003 to December 2004), a record for any level of football in the UK. One player, Kevin Cooper, scored 66 goals in the 2003–04 season.

Three years later came another promotion, and they won that league in the first year. In May 2011 at Manchester City’s stadium, they beat Luton Town in a playoff to make the Football League. That meant five promotions in nine years, making them the only Football League team that was established in this century. They made League One in 2016 and stayed there until 2022; they were relegated to League Two for the 2022–23 season but won last season’s promotion playoffs to get back to League One.

And now for the final cherry: as of 2022 they built themselves a new Plough Lane; the Wombles have finally come home.

2024–25 SEASON: 5th in League Two (promoted via playoffs), 2nd Round FA Cup, 3rd Round League Cup

2025–26 SEASON: League One (promoted in 2025)

MK Dons, obviously, are a rival. They also have rivalries with relative neighbors Crawley Town and (especially) Sutton United. Millwall and Charlton get some mention as rivals, as well.

In 2024 the AFC Wimbledon Ladies were champions of the Women’s National League Division One South East, securing them promotion to the Women’s National League–Southern Premier Division at tier 3 of the pyramid. Home games are occasionally at Plough Lane but usually at the home of Raynes Park Vale FC.

They have quite a few about MK Dons (whom they disparagingly call the Franchise) and about going back to Plough Lane, including one set to the tune of “Show Me the Way to Go Home.”

Wimbledon have a brand-new stadium back on their ancestral home of Plough Lane in the actual district of Wimbledon. The new Plough Lane, which is officially called the Cherry Red Records Stadium, seats 9,215 with the ability to expand to 20,000. It’s tucked neatly into a very cool neighborhood, and the development included new housing.

TOURS: Tours are £12 for adults and £5 for children. To learn more visit the AFC Wimbledon website

The closest pubs to the ground are The Corner Pin, The Leather Bottle and The Woodman – all on the north side of the ground, closer to Earlsfield Station.

GRUB: South London, it seems, is particularly good at converting old neighborhood covered markets into very cool food and drink hubs. And two of the best are close to Plough Lane: Broadway Market and Tooting Market. Both are filled with options. Also, our favorite fish and chips chain in London, Kennedy’s, has a location nearby. All of that is closer to Tooting Broadway Station and about a 20-minute walk from the ground.

AROUND THE GROUND: With all this talk of Wimbledon—yes, it’s that Wimbledon. You can take tours of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club for £25. Take a taxi from the Wimbledon Park Tube.