Dons vow to stand by K's

AFC Wimbledon have vowed not to leave Kingstonian high and dry should they get the green light to return home to Plough Lane next week.

New London mayor Sadiq Khan looks likely to reverse predecessor Boris Johnson’s decision to ‘call in’ the League One Dons’ plans return to Merton.

Kingsmeadow will be sold to Chelsea as a home for their ladies as soon as the new stadium is confirmed but fans have been worried where that leaves Ks in two years' time.

They are set to build a ground in nearby Chessington - and Wimbledon CEO Erik Samuelson confirmed they will be write a large cheque to help make that happen.

Kingstonian

Kingstonian

“The way I look at this, and it’s a sincerely held view, is that any club without a ground will not survive. That’s why I advocated buying Kingsmeadow when we did," he told Sunday's Non-League Paper.

“Kingstonian don’t have a ground. If we could afford to give them this place, then they couldn’t afford to run it. Their best chance of getting there only ground is if we give them a substantial sum of money, which we are doing. I think it’s a real potential win-win situation.

“There worst thing that can happen is that they receive enough money from us to pay for a groundshare for decades, that’s hardly a death sentence. They couldn’t stay at Kingsmeadow and survive."

He added: “We have had a fair bit of criticism, mainly for people who don’t understand what an opportunity this is for them. But their owners do - and their relationship with us continues to be strong. We are under no obligation to give them this money but it’s absolutely the morally correct thing to do.”

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Where next?

Testimonial tribute to super slatwart Sixty years of service from the man dubbed 'Mr Heybridge Swifts' is set to be celebrated today (Sunday) when the Ryman North club hosts a testimonial fun day for Mick Gibson.

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