Wimbledon court devastated after rain: Cup match in danger

The sacred turf of Wimbledon is well known; no tennis tournament is more important and has more prestige than the one in the London district. But football is also played in Wimbledon; AFC Wimbledon currently plays in League Two, the fourth highest English league.

On Tuesday, the club from south-west London was supposed to welcome Premier League side Newcastle in the third round of the Carabao Cup. But that is impossible. This quickly becomes clear when you look at the pitch at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.

The “green” currently looks more like a golf course because a hole has appeared in the ground. This is because there was torrential rain recently and the River Wandle burst its banks. Videos on the internet show the extent of the devastation.

Here from a different perspective. The water is piling up outside the stadium.

The cup match obviously had to be postponed. To cover the costs of the repairs, fans initiated a fundraising campaign.

Now the question is when the cup game will be rescheduled. Newcastle’s calendar, with former Swiss national team defender Fabian Schär, is already full, and the same goes for the hosts. The two clubs are now looking for a solution together with the English Football League EFL.

By the way: The Magpies from Newcastle last played against Wimbledon over 24 years ago. Back then, Wimbledon won 2-0. AFC Wimbledon was founded by fans in 2002 as the successor club to FC Wimbledon after the latter moved to Milton Keynes and was renamed MK Dons.