Wimbledon move to Milton Keynes is approved

Wimbledon are to relocate to Milton Keynes, 70 miles away from their south London home, after a landmark ruling yesterday by an Independent Commission appointed by the Football Association.

The First Division club expect to move to their new 28,000-seat stadium in August 2004. Construction work will start next year. The stadium itself will cost £30m and be part of a £100m development that will include retail and commercial outlets, a hotel and a leisure complex.

It is the first time any club has been allowed to migrate such a distance and sets a precedent for those who fear franchising in the national game. Opponents of franchising argue that football clubs belong in the communities where they were founded. Moves such as yesterday's, so the rationale goes, could destroy the fabric of the national game.

The FA sought to quell fears that the decision will be repeated. "The Commission reached its conclusions despite evidence presented by the FA opposing such moves in principle," the game's governing body said. "The Commission has made it clear that their decision is based on exceptional circumstances... They see Wimbledon FC as a one-off. This is not the beginning of a franchise system.

"The FA is greatly concerned that this decision should not in any way be seen as a precedent. The view of the FA is that for clubs to move is not in the best interests of the game. However, this is binding on everyone under the Football League rules – there is no appeal."

Wimbledon's chairman, Charles Koppel, has been seeking to find a new home for the club for more than a year and has said that moving to Milton Keynes is the only way to safeguard the future of Wimbledon, who have lodged at Selhurst Park since 1991 and are reportedly losing £20,000 a day.

Koppel's first two requests to move to Milton Keynes were rejected by the Football League but the club were granted a review by the Independent Commission after the case was referred back to the FA. The Milton Keynes Stadium Consortium, as Koppel and his partners in the new venture are known, are now free to press ahead with their plans.

Wimbledon fans said yesterday that they found the decision "sickening". Marc Jones, the spokesman for the Wimbledon Independent Supporters' Association, added: "I've stood and watched Wimbledon since 1979 and now I don't have a club to support any more. I won't be going to Milton Keynes. It has to be the death of our club."