The English FA Cup kicks off this weekend, and it includes a return to the fray for non-league AFC Wimbledon, 20 years after its spiritual predecessor famously beat Liverpool to lift the trophy at Wembley Stadium.
AFC Wimbledon was founded in 2002 by disaffected supporters of South London club Wimbledon, which itself had climbed from non-league soccer all the way to England’s top flight in just nine years between 1977 and 1986. But in 2002 the club was re-located to the sterile Midlands new town of Milton Keynes in a rare case of re-franchising in English soccer. The old team, almost universally reviled by fans across the country, was re-named MK Dons. The new team, which inherited most of Wimbledon’s considerable support, has already risen several tiers in the English semi-pro pyramid and now plays in the sixth-tier Conference South.
This season, AFC Wimbledon has come through the FA Cup qualifying rounds for the first time, and on Monday will host fourth-tier League Two’s Wycombe Wanderers in a game that will be televised live nationally. “It really is the cherry on the cake of our season,” said David Cox, chairman of the Dons Trust, the non-profit body that owns the club. “To make the first round proper for the first time in our history, only six seasons after reforming, is a major success story.”
“The reason I came here was to be part of something special and this is a very special club,” said manager Terry Brown. “This game gives us a real chance to put AFC in the spotlight and show to the fans how far we have come in six years. This is ticking off another box and is a real milestone for us all. I think it’s fair to say that it will be the biggest day in our history.”