AFC Wimbledon bring football back to Plough Lane 30 years later

It has taken almost 30 years but Plough Lane will once again be the home of Wimbledon's football team.

AFC Wimbledon play their first game at their new 9,000-capacity stadium on Tuesday night when Doncaster Rovers visit, having left SW19 in 1991 after Sam Hammam sold the site to developers.

In 2003 the original Wimbledon club moved to Milton Keynes, with a phoenix club being formed in Merton which took nine years to reach the Football League.

Finally, AFC Wimbledon are home after spells playing at other team's grounds, including Kingstonian and QPR.

Planning permission was granted in 2015 but with costs increasing, the club turned to supporters who helped fund the completion of the project through crowdfunding and the 'Plough Lane Bond'.

Sadly, due to the coronavirus pandemic, fans will be unable to attend the fixture and no one knows when they will be able to return.

Club manager Glyn Hodges was fittingly part of the Wimbledon team who played at Plough Lane in the 1980s and will lead them against Doncaster in League One.

“We all know the story and what went on," Hodges told the Guardian.

"We’ve done it in our own way. Any hurdle that’s been put in front of us we’ve overcome. That’s what this club is about. We are role models for so many clubs.

"I know there are a few struggling at the moment – the longer lockdown lasts, the more dangerous it is for them. But what we’ve done and how we’ve done it is a great example to follow if they need to.”