AFC Wimbledon ask for JustGiving page to be paused – with Plough Lane flood donations smashing over £100k

AFC Wimbledon have asked for the JustGiving page, which was set up to help the club after flooding wrecked the pitch at Plough Lane and caused damage to the stadium, to be paused.

The fundraiser was set up by Graham Stacey, who is a fan and former Dons Trust board member.

£121,326 has been raised, with former players Lee Brown, Kasey McAteer and Jack Currie all donating, with the original target on Monday morning set for £10k.

The target was then extended to £50k , with Newcastle United also donated £15,000 on Tuesday.

Work has begun to excavate the pitch, but the club have said the full extent of the damage is still unknown.

Games against Newcastle [EFL Cup], Crewe and Accrington have all been postponed this week. 

The Dons will head to St James’ Park on Tuesday to take on the Premier League side for a place in the last 16 against Chelsea.

“Everyone here at AFC Wimbledon would like to thank each and every person who has donated or have offered support to us in other ways following our stadium and pitch damage, as well as supporter Graham Stacey for his efforts in initiating and leading the fundraising campaign to help the club,” a statement read by the Dons.

“Having spent the week investigating the issue with a number of experts, alongside our insurers, we have asked Graham to pause his fundraising drive.

“While investigations and a plan to address the issues remain a work in progress, and there remain several unknowns, we are hopeful that the funds raised by Graham’s campaign will at least cover our significant insurance excess and contribute to inevitable ongoing costs.

“In the event the situation becomes more serious and costly during these investigations, we will notify supporters.”