We’re counting down the days until a fantastic event that will bring together a galaxy of Dons stars from the past – and you’re invited to join us!
To celebrate the longest-running front of shirt partnership in English football between AFC Wimbledon and Sports Interactive, we’ll be displaying every home shirt since the Club reformed, spanning the 21 years-plus since we teamed up with the makers of Football Manager.
But that’s certainly not all!
For the event on Wednesday 27 March, we’ll be joined by the following Dons personalities from the past and present: Terry Brown, Danny Kedwell, Jon Main, Simon Bassey, Ben Judge, Mickey Haswell, Callum Kennedy, Dannie Bulman, Joe Pigott, Johnnie Jackson and Jake Reeves.
We’re expecting more former players to confirm their attendance for an event that will be hosted by presenter Aaron Paul, so watch this space!
To join us for the event, simply fill out the form by clicking on the link below.
Doors open at 6.30 pm, with the event running from 7 pm until 9 pm. You must be on the guest list to attend (by filling in the survey above) and it will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. There will be a bar open and an opportunity to purchase food, so plenty of incentive to make a night of it at our stadium!
More about the fundraising event and shirt takeover for the Harrogate game
Proceeds from the special fundraising night will be donated to War Child and AFC Wimbledon Foundation. The evening will feature special addresses from Ivor Heller, one of AFC Wimbledon's founder members, and Sports Interactive Studio Director Miles Jacobson, plus there will be a number of special presentations.
In addition, the studio and club have also agreed a shirt takeover. War Child, a longstanding charity partner of Sports Interactive who receive a percentage of every copy of Football Manager sold, will come in as sleeve sponsors for a special one-off kit with an iconic design.
The shirt will be worn on Friday 29 March against Harrogate Town and supporters will have an opportunity to win the shirt through a charity raffle on the night. This will be signed by our current first-team squad, with the raffle winner getting their hands on a historic shirt. There will be plenty of other fantastic prizes up for grabs in the raffle.
The shirts worn on Good Friday will be auctioned through the Match Worn Shirt platform and all the money raised from those sales, as well as during the fundraising event, will go to War Child and the AFC Wimbledon Foundation.
Miles Jacobson, Sports Interactive Studio Director, said: “The vision those passionate fans had to start a fan-owned, fan-driven club back in 2002 struck such a chord with how we saw ourselves as a studio. That was what pushed us to get involved as sponsors and it’s been incredible to be involved in their journey over the past 21 years.
“Now we get the chance to mark that partnership with a pair of events that’ll not only celebrate where we’ve been but also where we’re going, as well as raising money to change the lives of vulnerable people both at home and further afield. This is just the beginning of what we want to do with the collaboration."
Andrew Stead, Head of Commercial at AFC Wimbledon, added: “We are delighted to be hosting both of these events, in partnership with long-term front-of-shirt sponsors Sports Interactive, supporting two fantastic charities – War Child and AFC Wimbledon Foundation.
“There are few partnerships in world football that have spanned two decades and we’re incredibly grateful to Miles and his team for their continued support.
“As well as the fundraising event supporting such great causes, it’ll celebrate the wonderful partnership we’ve had with SI. All of our shirts will be on display from 2002 onwards and a host of fantastic guests, including those who have made immense contributions to the Club and helped the partnership to grow, will be attending.
“We hope that all attendees will dig deep and support these fantastic causes on what promises to be an amazing evening.”
The Club would like to thank Qualco and Rose Capital Partners for donating their advertising on our shirts for such a fantastic cause.
War Child is a fantastic charity with a cause that the Club is proud to support – raising funds for children affected by conflict.
A spokesperson for the charity said: “We are honoured to be included in this celebration of AFC Wimbledon and Sports Interactive’s 21-year partnership. Sports Interactive and their incredible Football Manager series of games have helped to raise a very significant amount of money and awareness for War Child’s work supporting children in conflict zones around the world. We are extremely grateful to be included in this moment and we would like to extend our thanks to Miles and everyone at Sports Interactive and AFC Wimbledon.”
