Celebrating 25 years of AFC Wimbledon.
On May 28, 2002, the most-shameful decision ever taken in the history of English football was rubber stamped. A three-man commission, appointed by the FA, allowed Wimbledon FC to be airlifted from its community and moved 70 miles away to Milton Keynes. It was football’s crime of the century, a theft like nothing the game had ever experienced. The FA could have stopped it, but chose not to. Instead, they facilitated it and told Wimbledon fans to abandon any thoughts of relaunching a new club because that would “not be in the wider interests of the game”. But Ivor Heller – and three other diehard fans - refused to listen. With no money, no players, no manager, no coaches – not even any bibs, cones or footballs – they defied the FA and started their club again.
At the very bottom of the English game, playing on park pitches where attendances usually hovered between 30 and 50, including stray dogs. What happened next is one of football’s most inspirational and astonishing stories, one that eternally shames the game’s governing body. It’s also a story that resonates with every single fan across the globe, irrespective of who they support. Ivor Heller - an ordinary supporter like every other ordinary fan on the terraces - gives his account of how he dared take on the FA - and beat them, helping to steer Wimbledon back to the big time and a triumphant Wembley appearance in the 2025 play-offs. Victory came at a cost, though, including Ivor’s marriage which ended in divorce.
We Shall Not Be Moved is his deeply personal story, as much about the human spirit and the realities of life as it is about the beautiful game.
Featuring a foreword by bestselling author John Green.
About the Author :
Until 2002 Ivor Heller was an anonymous football fan, religiously following his beloved Wimbledon team home and away. He was born into a Jewish family, and although he was a promising footballer as a child, his height – barely five feet tall - ultimately ended any thoughts of becoming a professional player. After leading the charge against the FA to protect his beloved club, he is now Life Vice President at AFC Wimbledon and a motivational speaker around the country.
Mike Dunn is a former Head of Sport for some of the UK’s biggest national papers, including The Sun, News of the World, Independent, the i paper and London Evening Standard. He has previously written five books, including the official AFC Wimbledon history We Are Home, which catalogued the club’s return to Plough Lane. The book was shortlisted in the Daily Telegraph’s Sports Book of the Year awards. His most recent book is The Freshwater Five, which tells the story of five fishermen imprisoned for a crime they insist they never committed.
