Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday fans pledge support to League Two club after flood damage

The Dons were forced to postpone both this week’s matches, with their scheduled League Cup third-round tie against Newcastle United moved to St James’ Park after flooding in and around the Plough Lane ground caused a sinkhole to open up on the sand-based pitch.

Champions Celtic, along with Aberdeen and St Mirren are amongst the kind-hearted Scottish clubs who have made donations to AFC Wimbledon’s pitch fundraiser.

The Premiership trio have joined Dunfermline Athletic and Forfar Athletic in giving money to the English League Two side. Wimbledon’s pitch has been left decimated by flooding and the emergence of a sinkhole in their Plough Lane pitch earlier this week. That caused their Carabao Cup clash with Newcastle United to be scrapped this week and switched to St James’ Park next Tuesday.

AFC Wimbledon fan, Graham Stacey, set up a crowdfunding page. with the initial aim was to raise £50,0000. That has now been dwarfed with the new target now £150,000. On Thursday evening the fundraiser was sitting at just over £115,000 with more than 2700 donations. All monies raised will go towards helping the clear up operation from pump hire to remove the water and relay the pitch, along with possible rental of an alternative venue for games in the short-term.

Newcastle got the the ball rolling with a £15,000 donation. Most English Premier League and Championship sides have also now pitched in along with League One and rivals in League Two. Other clubs from Barcelona and VFL Bochum to Biggleswade Youth have also contributed.

A number of clubs have come to the support of League Two side AFC Wimbledon.
Leeds United have been named on a long list of clubs across the Premier League, EFL and non-league scene that have pledged funds to support AFC Wimbledon after flooding caused severe damage to their Cherry Red Records Stadium.

The Dons were set to host Newcastle United in a potentially lucrative Carabao Cup third round tie on Tuesday night – but the game was postponed when the River Wandle broke its banks and caused flooding across the local area that caused a sinkhole to open up at the League Two club’s home. More than 100,000 litres of water has now been pumped out of the stadium and the recovery process is already underway as the Dons face up to the postponement of both league and cup fixtures over the near future.

An EFL statement released earlier this week read: “The Carabao Cup Round Three tie between AFC Wimbledon and Newcastle United will now be played at St. James’ Park on Tuesday 1 October, kick-off 7:45pm. The original fixture between the two sides was due to take place on Tuesday 24 September at the Cherry Red Records Stadium but was postponed due to extensive flooding of the River Wandle and surrounding areas, including the stadium of AFC Wimbledon.

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Following an agreement between both Clubs and subsequent approval from the management committee of the competition, the fixture will now be reversed and will take place a week later at St. James’ Park. As a result, AFC Wimbledon’s Sky Bet League Two fixture against Crewe Alexandra, due to take place on Tuesday 1 October, will now be rearranged for a later date. Further details will be announced in due course regarding the fixture rearrangement.”

With the Dons facing up to a sizeable recovery cost, one supporter has set up a fundraising page with the initial aim of raising £10,000 to help the club in their hour of need. The initial target was comfortably surpassed within days and Carabao Cup opponents Newcastle played their part with a £15,000 donation.

However, the Yorkshire Post have revealed the Magpies are far from the only club that has played a part in helping boost the funds of the League Two outfit after supporters from the likes of Hull City, Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds have all pledged their own donations to help the fund make its way towards the £120,000-mark.