American author spells out his support ahead of FA Youth Cup tie
Three years on from the creation of our Category Three Academy, here is an inspirational letter to our Under 18's from American super-fan and world-renowned author John Green, ahead of Tuesday's FA Youth Cup tie against Chelsea.
Young Dons,
"Football doesn't mean anything, in and of itself. It's just trying to get a sphere through a rectangle without using your hands. It's the kind of silly game that-if it didn't exist-you would make up with your friends while bored on a weekend.
"And yet-as Pope John Paul II once said-of all the unimportant things, football is the most important. Football builds and binds communities together in beautiful and unexpected ways. AFC Wimbledon embodies that--in the way the club is run, and in the way you, the under-18 squad, have advanced through the FA Youth Cup.
"Here in Indianapolis, thousands of miles from you, I heard my 6-year-old son humming to himself the other day while playing with his Legos. When I asked him what he was singing, he looked up at me and sang, "Will Mannion for England." Your Cup run has brought joy and encouragement you cannot imagine to people you will never know, and on all their behalf, I want to say thank you.
"I imagine that this week lots of old men are telling you that you will remember this experience for the rest of your lives. And you will. You will remember the love you felt for each other. You will remember that you played for each other, and for the shirt that a community fought to preserve.
"That's a lesson from Wimbledon's history, I think: Life is not so much about what you do as who you share it with. Thank you for sharing your talent, passion, and work ethic with us as you write a new chapter in your club's history."
available due to the demand. Come on you Dons!hospitality and we have ticket shopIt's set to be the biggest turnout in AFC Wimbledon Under-18 history. Tickets are still available from our online