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Wimbledon bond issue tops £5m

The fan driven bond issue for AFC Wimbledon has now raised over £5m and the organisers are now aiming for £7.5m. The more that is raised in this way the less the club will have to borrow to finance the new stadium near their old home in Plough Lane: Bond success

One of the organisers told Richard Cawley of the SLP: 'There was a bit of a narrative that because people had said this was the only way forward [external investment] and they were people in authority, a lot believed that was the only way forward. We’ve changed the game on that. We believe there are more Wimbledon fans and football fans out there who understand what we stand for – not just football but also the community and a broader spectrum of things.'

'If we’re self critical then I think we’ve been asleep at the wheel a little bit. We got so used to fan ownership and The Dons Trust running things that we didn’t realise what needed to change. It’s taken something like this to remobilise and understand the values we stand for – how we achieve those goals.'

Congratulations to those involved, but I remain sceptical whether fan owned clubs can raise the funds to compete at the top level.

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