AFC Wimbledon fan campaign raises more than £50k after huge Newcastle donation

AFC Wimbledon fans and the wider shot assemblage person been contributing to fundraiser aft the League Two club's Plough Lane stadium was importantly affected by flooding

AFC Wimbledon fans person rallied to rise successful excess of £50,000 successful a time aft the transportation astatine their Plough Lane stadium was destroyed by flooding - with Newcastle United donating a staggering £15k themselves.

London was battered by torrential rainfall connected Sunday nighttime and flooding from the adjacent River Wandle has near the Dons' transportation with a important sinkhole, rendering their location unplayable for the foreseeable future.

The events person already caused a lucrative 3rd circular Carabao Cup necktie with Newcastle to beryllium postponed with the fixture now acceptable to instrumentality spot astatine St. James' Park adjacent week.

But supporters of the fan-owned Dons person agreed successful a bid to easiness the fiscal load courtesy of a fundraiser acceptable up erstwhile Dons Trust committee subordinate Graham Stacey. The fund, which astatine the clip of penning has deed its £50,000 people courtesy of the Magpies' generous donation, was the brainchild of fans who were brainstorming ways to supply assistance aft processing the "devastating" viral images of Wimbledon's pitch.

"I thought it was similar immoderate benignant of spoof oregon thing astatine first. The photos came retired and you're like, 'This has truly happened'," Stacey tells Mirror Football.

"A mates of radical suggested getting a mop and bucket and heading down. I thought, well, you know, 'Is determination thing we could bash online?'.

"We lone launched it aft the schoolhouse tally earlier enactment connected Monday. I didn't cognize if it would instrumentality disconnected but by mid-morning it truly got going. It's been phenomenal."

Wimbledon confirmed connected Monday that the interaction of the damage, which besides affected their retail store, depository and nine offices, was being assessed, though it's not presently known however overmuch oregon however agelong specified enactment volition magnitude to.

They have, however, been inundated with "heartwarming" enactment implicit the past 24 hours: everything from pouch wealth donations to four-figure sums and adjacent contributions from past players.

Fans from each antithetic clubs crossed the state - and from varying levels of the pyramid - person besides dug heavy successful a bid to assistance the Dons successful their hr of need.

The fundraiser raised astir fractional of its archetypal £10,000 people wrong 4 hours of the leafage going unrecorded and the cookware continues to emergence by the hr aft surpassing the revised £50,000 goal. "We've had immoderate truly bully support, but it's not conscionable a assemblage thing," Stacey adds.

"Lots of Newcastle fans person chipped in. Fans of Brighton, Arsenal, Southampton, Reading... Hendon, who we played successful non-league. It's been unthinkable to spot everyone travel together."

For galore who bleed yellowish and blue, the existent circumstances volition bring backmost memories of their bid to instrumentality location successful Wimbledon. Fans person dug heavy into their ain pockets clip and clip again to marque the intolerable imaginable and raised northbound of £10million done a enslaved strategy to propulsion done their instrumentality to SW19 backmost successful 2019.

"It transcended Wimbledon," Stacey adds of erstwhile - and existent - contributions from fans beyond the Wimbledon bubble.

"I similar to deliberation what happened to america successful 2002, a batch of fans saw that we were wronged, and possibly had a brushed spot for however we started again. We built this stadium and we ain the club. What we enactment in, we get out. But we person nary sweetener daddy throwing wealth successful for us. It's down to us.

"When there's a clip of need, our fans rally around. And if there's a spot of adversity to overcome, we'll tackle it caput on, get unneurotic and bash what we can. When we get together, we tin execute anything: we ne'er cognize erstwhile we're defeated."

Click present to larn much astir the fundraiser to assistance Wimbledon get games backmost on.

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