Why is MK Dons vs AFC Wimbledon a rivalry?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon meet in the First Round of the FA Cup on Sunday, reigniting a long-standing feud between the two clubs.

Based in Milton Keynes, MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon are more than 60 miles apart, while the latter have only been officially in existence since May 2002. The FA Cup clash will be just the 17th time they’ll have played against each other in their history, too, though there’ll inevitably be plenty of tension both on the pitch and in the stands.

So why is there such a rivalry between MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon? FourFourTwo highlights the reasons below…

Why is MK Dons vs AFC Wimbledon a rivalry?

AFC Wimbledon celebrate at Stadium MK (Image credit: Getty Images)The rivalry between MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon comes down to controversial events two decades ago, when Peter Winkelman, fronting the project for a large development in Milton Keynes, which included moving a Football League club there, relocated the original Wimbledon FC to Milton Keynes.

In 2001, Wimbledon FC’s board of directors decided to relocate the club to Milton Keynes, but faced plenty of opposition from the club’s fans, the Football League and the FA. An FA arbitration meeting later gave the club permission to move, however, after a three-person independent commission voted 2-1 in favour of the relocation.

It still took some time for the move to happen, though, but when Wimbledon entered into administration in 2003, the move accelerated. By September 2003, Wimbledon were now playing at the National Hockey Stadium in Milton Keynes under their original name. It took another year before Winkelman eventually managed to rename the club to Milton Keynes Dons FC, choosing a new all-white kit and club crest in the process.

Ronan Curtis celebrates his 94th-minute winner for AFC Wimbledon against MK Dons in March 2024 (Image credit: Getty Images)While some Wimbledon FC fans followed the club with the move, most stayed in south-west London to support AFC Wimbledon. AFC quickly rose from Non-League to the Football League, with the clubs first facing off in an FA Cup match in 2012. MK Dons won, with their first league meeting coming four years later in 2016.

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In relocating Wimbledon and completely rebranding the club, some AFC Wimbledon fans, however, don’t even recognise MK Dons as a legitimate side.

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The rivalry goes both ways, too – MK Dons technically won the FA Cup in 1988 (Wimbledon FC lifted the trophy after beating Liverpool at Wembley) but they returned the trophy and other Wimbledon FC memorabilia to the London Borough of Merton in 2007. This was part of an agreement made in 2006 between the club, the Football Supporters Federation, and the Wimbledon and Milton Keynes Dons Supporters Associations.

MK Dons also agreed that references to the club should only refer to events after August 7, 2004, when the club first played under that name.

While the rivalry continues, Pete Winkelman has since left MK Dons, selling the club in August 2024 to a Kuwait-based consortium, with Fahad Al Ghamin replacing him as chairman.

Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture’s websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.