Milton Keynes Dons F.C.

This article is about the association football club from Milton Keynes, formed under this name in 2004. For its origins, see Wimbledon F.C. and Relocation of Wimbledon F.C. to Milton Keynes. For the women's team, see Milton Keynes Dons F.C. Women.

Milton Keynes Dons
MK Dons badge
Full nameMilton Keynes Dons Football Club
Nickname(s)The Dons
Short nameMK Dons
Founded21 June 2004; 20 years ago[n 1]
GroundStadium MK
Capacity30,500
ChairmanFahad Al Ghamin
Head coachScott Lindsey
LeagueEFL League Two
2023–24EFL League Two, 4th of 24
Websitemkdons.com
Current season

Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. The club was founded in 2004, following Wimbledon F.C.'s controversial relocation to Milton Keynes from south London, when it adopted its present name, badge and home colours.[n 2]

Initially based at the National Hockey Stadium, the club competed as Milton Keynes Dons from the start of the 2004–05 season. The club moved to their current ground, Stadium MK, for the 2007–08 season, in which they won the League Two title and the Football League Trophy. After seven further seasons in League One, the club won promotion to the Championship in 2015 under the management of Karl Robinson; however, they were relegated back to League One after one season.

Milton Keynes Dons have built a reputation for youth development,[4] run 16 disability teams and their football trust engages around 60,000 people; between 2012 and 2013 the club produced 11 young players who have been called into age group national teams and between 2004 and 2014 the club also gave first-team debuts to 14 local academy graduates, including the England international midfielder Dele Alli.[5][6]

The club also operates a women's team, Milton Keynes Dons Women, who groundshare Stadium MK with their male counterparts, and currently play in the third tier of the English women's football pyramid.[7]

  1. ^ "Dons out of administration". ESPN. 1 July 2004. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015. A club statement read: 'InterMK are pleased to announce that the Football League have today issued their final approval of the voluntary arrangement (CVA) and confirmed the transfer of the Wimbledon FC League share to Milton Keynes Dons Ltd, bringing certainty to a future for the football club in Milton Keynes.'
  2. ^ "WebCHeck". London: Companies House. Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  3. ^ a b "The Accord 2006" (PDF). Sunderland: Football Supporters' Federation. 2 October 2006. Retrieved 17 February 2015.; "MK Dons agree to return Wimbledon trophies to Merton—and sanction amendments to football statistics" (PDF). Sunderland: Football Supporters' Federation. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2015. And, on behalf of both clubs, the FSF respectfully requests that, with immediate effect, our media colleagues now refer to MK Dons in relation ONLY to matches played since their first Football League fixture was fulfilled against Barnsley on August 7, 2004.
  4. ^ Blake, Donovan (18 November 2016). "Five reasons why MK Dons would be a great first job for Steven Gerrard". ITV News. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  5. ^ "The next Gerrard ready for lift-off?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  6. ^ Osborne, Chris (27 September 2013). "MK Dons: A decade of football in Milton Keynes". BBC Sport.
  7. ^ "Report: Women 7 Keynsham Town 1". www.mkdons.com. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.


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