Mark Bullingham, chief executive of the Football Association (FA), has been urged to issue a formal apology over the controversy surrounding the use of the name "Dons" by Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (MK Dons), following a direct appeal from AFC Wimbledon co-founder Ivor Heller. The request was delivered in a letter handed to the FA at Wembley Stadium ahead of a scheduled League One match between AFC Wimbledon and MK Dons at Plough Lane.
The longstanding dispute centers on the relocation and rebranding of the original Wimbledon FC. In 2003, the club was controversially moved from South-West London to Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, before being renamed MK Dons in 2004. Heller, one of the key figures in establishing AFC Wimbledon as a fan-owned successor club in 2002, criticized the FA for what he describes as a “crime of the century,” accusing them of permitting a club with no genuine historical ties to Buckinghamshire to assume the Wimbledon nickname.
Heller highlighted an apparent inconsistency in the FA’s approach, recalling that when AFC Wimbledon was founded, the FA refused their request to adopt the “Real Wimbledon” name. “Why weren’t MK told a straight no when they tried to steal the Dons name? There is zero historical link to Buckinghamshire,” he said, expressing frustration at what he views as double standards within the governing body.
The AFC Wimbledon co-founder called on the FA to rectify the situation by compelling MK Dons to drop the disputed name. He emphasized that while he acknowledges MK Dons’ existence, the rebranding remains a source of profound grievance for those connected to the original Wimbledon club and its fan base.
Heller’s campaign is deeply personal. He recounted two emotionally charged moments in his football involvement: breaking down in tears in 2012 when AFC Wimbledon first played an FA Cup match in Milton Keynes, confronted with the presence of the “Dons” name at a stadium he described as a “huge, sterile concrete bowl,” and later, tears of joy at the opening of AFC Wimbledon’s new Plough Lane stadium, symbolizing the club’s return to its spiritual home.
The formation of AFC Wimbledon was born from disappointment after a late-night call from an FA official in May 2002 informed Heller that attempts to prevent the relocation had failed. Rather than seeking protest, he and his colleagues swiftly began building a new club from grassroots levels, driven by what Heller terms “righteous indignation.” The club has since climbed through the English football leagues, surpassing MK Dons in recent years.
Heller also addressed the FA’s 2002 claim that a fan-owned club like AFC Wimbledon was “not in the wider interests of football,” countering by citing the club’s extensive community work. Through the Dons Local Action Group and AFC Wimbledon Foundation, the club supports vulnerable local residents by providing food, technology, and assistance to families and homeless individuals.
Calling for accountability, Heller said an apology from the FA is overdue. “If you took AFC Wimbledon out of this community now, it’d leave a massive black hole. Isn’t it about time the FA apologised for that?”