A curious story has come over from England: After the pitch of AFC Wimbledon was affected by flooding, the club’s appeal for donations was much too successful. Now the club is asking for donations to stop.
In sporting terms, AFC Wimbledon are currently languishing in the fourth English division – in other words, where there are no lavish TV and sponsorship deals. As a result, the Dons were faced with a major problem when a hole in the ground caused by heavy rain and flooding affected the pitch. Wimbledon was even forced to close the stadium; the League Cup game against Newcastle United will therefore also be played at the Premier League club.
Graham Stacey, a Wimbledon fan and former long-standing member of the AFC board, launched a fundraising campaign with the aim of covering the repair costs. However, this was so successful that the fourth division club now felt compelled to ask its own fans to stop donating.
“We will be forever grateful,” the AFC said on its website, thanking its fans from all over the world, but especially Stacey. ‘After spending the week examining the problem with a range of experts and our insurers, we have asked Graham to pause his fundraising campaign for the time being.’
Originally, the crowdfunding campaign had a target of the equivalent of 10,000 British pounds (about 12,000 euros), but within a few days it had raised ten times that amount, or 100,000 pounds (about 120,000 euros).
However, they do not want to stop the campaign completely, as there are apparently still uncertainties. Consequently, it was also pointed out that they would inform the fans “should the situation become critical after all”. Several hours after the announcement, the crowdfunding campaign was still active.
Action only paused, not stopped
“While investigations and a plan to rectify the damage are still in progress and there remain many uncertainties, we hope that the funds raised through Graham’s campaign will at least cover our substantial excess and contribute to the unavoidable running costs,” the club wrote.
In England, AFC Wimbledon is a special case: the club was founded by fans in 2002 as the successor to Wimbledon F.C., which had previously moved to Milton Keynes and renamed itself MK Dons. AFC Wimbledon is owned by a non-profit organization set up by fans, in which every member has voting rights.