Wimbledon F.C. — former association football club in Wimbledon, England, United Kingdom
Wimbledon FC's rise from non-League obscurity to FA Cup winners in 1988, and its controversial relocation to Milton Keynes, reshaped English football's community ownership debate.
Key Facts
- Founded
- 1889 as Wimbledon Old Centrals
- FA Cup Win
- 1988, defeating Liverpool
- FA Amateur Cup Win
- 1963
- Isthmian League titles
- 8
- Home ground (1912–1991)
- Plough Lane
- Relocation distance to Milton Keynes
- 46 miles (74 km) north of Wimbledon
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Centrals, the club spent most of its early existence as a non-League side. Successive Southern League championships from 1975 to 1977 earned election to the Football League, launching a rapid ascent through the divisions during the 1980s.
Wimbledon FC climbed from the Fourth Division to the First Division in four seasons and, in 1988, won the FA Cup by beating League champions Liverpool. Known as the 'Crazy Gang', the club played at Plough Lane until 1991, then groundshared at Selhurst Park for over a decade before announcing a move to Milton Keynes in 2001, approved by the FA in 2002.
The approved relocation to Milton Keynes, which most supporters opposed, prompted fans to form AFC Wimbledon as a community replacement club. Wimbledon FC played in Milton Keynes from 2003 and became Milton Keynes Dons F.C. from 2004, making it one of the most controversial franchise relocations in English football history.