AFC Wimbledon, a failed £87m investment bid and the challenge for fan ownership

Clubs with wealthy proprietors can maintain a loss-making operation but things can be more complex when the supporters carry the can When you walk up from Haydons Road train station to Plough Lane there is a blue AFC Wimbledon billboard that reads “Fan owned football”, directly o

Clubs with wealthy proprietors can maintain a loss-making operation but things can be more complex when the supporters carry the can When you walk up from Haydons Road train station to Plough Lane there is a blue AFC Wimbledon billboard that reads “Fan owned football”, directly opposite the site of the old Plough Lane stadium where there are now blocks of flats. There is a memorial to the old Wimbledon FC – a reminder that supporters can often have little say in the running of their club – on the same corner, just up the road from the new Cherry Red Records Stadium. AFC Wimbledon are one of only two majority fan-owned clubs in the EFL – along with Exeter City – but that makes running a loss-making operation, as 94% of teams in England’s top five tiers are doing according to the State of the Game report, even more challenging.

“In other clubs, the owner just puts their hand in their pocket, produces cash,” said Hannah Kitcher, who has been a member of the Dons Trust Board (DTB), which runs AFC Wimbledon, for seven years. “It’s harder when the owners are fans – you can only go to them so many times.” Continue reading...