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LATEST UPDATE - vv WINSUM / GEERT REINDERS-SPORTPARK, WINSUM (NETHERLANDS)

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

NETHERLANDS: vv Winsum (2020-)

Geert Reinders-Sportpark, Winsum (vv Winsum)

Netherlands, province: Groningen

28 II 2026 / vv Winsum - vv Heerenveense Boys 1-1 / Combined Sunday & Saturday League 1H (= NL level 6)

Timeline

• 1917 / A first football team is formed in Winsum, a town in the northern part of the Province of Groningen. The team is given the name AFC (Altijd Fijne Combinatie). AFC settles on a pitch on a pitch of farmland near Enne Jans Hoeve in the hamlet of Maarhuizen. 
• ± 1919 / Moving away from Terrein Enne Jans Hoeve, AFC moves to a newly laid-out pitch, Terrein Lugtenborg in Winsumermeeden.
• 1921 / Creation of a new football team in Winsum, made up of a group of youngsters of the protestant (evangelical), who take on the rather whimsical name Kap en Klomp, i.e. ‘Boot and Clog’ in a literal English translation. The first matches of this team take place on a plot of farmland in the hamlet of Maarhuizen, put at the boys’ disposal by a local smallholder, Mr Dussel. Whereas AFC (and later WVV, WFC, and vv Hunsingo) plays its football on Sundays, Kap en Klomp – as well as its successor CVV Viboa – strictly adheres to match activities on Saturdays. Also in or around 1921, moving away from Terrein Lugtenborg, AFC must have moved to a newly laid-out pitch in Obergum.
• ± 1922 / AFC takes on the new name WVV, Winsumer Voetbalvereeniging.
• 1924 / WVV takes on the new name WFC, Winsumer Football Club. Around this same time, moving away from the pitch in Obergum laid out some three years previously, WFC now moves to a pitch laid out on a plot of land owned by a local smallholder, Mr Wierda, at Schouwerzijlsterweg, also in Obergum. This pitch coincides with the location of the pitch later used by CVV Viboa in the years 1952-2016 and by vv Winsum in the years 2016-20.
• 1925 / As WFC applies for membership of the Groninger Voetbalbond (GVB), the Groningen sub-branch of the official Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, later renamed KNVB), the club is allowed to join under a new name, vv Hunsingo.
• 1926 / Runner-up in GVB Division 2, vv Hunsingo wins promotion to Division 1 of the said league system.
• 1929 / After a twilight existence of eight years, Kap en Klomp ceases its activities for the time being.
• 1933 / After a four-year break, Kap en Klomp is re-established, with 1933 probably being the moment that a new name was chosen, Christelijke Voetbalvereeniging (CVV) Viboa – with the last part of the name being an acronym for Voetballen Is Bij Ons Aangenaam (literally translated: Playing Football Is A Pleasant Activity With Us). Activities are resumed on a plot of farmland put at the club’s disposal by a local smallholder, Simon Wieringa, near Stationsweg in the hamlet of Bellingeweer.
• ± 1938 / CVV Viboa moves to a newly laid out pitch at Schouwerzijlsterweg – not the same pitch as vv Hunsingo, but a location nearby, on a plot of farmland put at the club’s disposal by farmer Jakob Sieger.
• ± 1945 / CVV Viboa moves to a newly laid-out pitch at Borgweg in Bellingeweer – not far from the modern-day Wink Heem retirement home.
• ± 1950 / Abandoning its pitch of the past 25 odd years at Schouwerzijlsterweg, vv Hunsingo moves to a pitch adjacent to this location – directly to its east.
• 1952 / Moving away from Terrein Borgweg, CVV Viboa settles at the pitch at Schouwerzijlsterweg abandoned by vv Hunsingo some two years previously. As such, Hunsingo and Viboa become each other’s neighbours for the following 25 years, with Viboa playing on the westernmost pitch, with the Hunsingo pitch to its east.
• 1977 / Abandoning its ground at Schouwerzijlsterweg, vv Hunsingo moves to the newly laid-out Sportpark Schilligeham in Winsum proper. 
• 2013 / The youth academies of vv Hunsingo and CVV Viboa are merged into one under the name SJO (Samenwerkende Jeugdopleidingen) Winsum – a prelude to a projected fully-fledged merger between the two clubs.
• 2016 / Following the 2015-16 season, a merger is concluded between vv Hunsingo and CVV Viboa, resulting in the foundation of vv Winsum. The new club starts its existence with two first teams, one at Sportpark Schouwerzijlsterweg in Saturday League 1, replacing CVV Viboa, and one at Sportpark Schilligeham in Sunday League 4, taking the place of vv Hunsingo.
• 2017 / vv Winsum withdraws from regular Sunday League football, continuing with just one first team playing in Saturday League 1 at Sportpark Schouwerzijlsterweg. Sportpark Schilligeham is retained for lower team football and training sessions. Meanwhile, at the request of the municipality Het Hogeland, to which the village of Winsum belongs, a design is made for a clubhouse, to be constructed on a projected new park for vv Winsum, no more than a stone’s throw to the south of Sportpark Schilligeham. The layout by architect Jan Giezen foresees a clubhouse built in the shape of a barn on top of an artificial dike, to fit into the surrounding landscape of farmland, mounds, and dikes. 
• 2019 / Works get underway on the new park for vv Winsum shortly to the south of Sportpark Schiligeham, the ground of the former vv Hunsingo. The bricks used for the construction are black, a reference to the dark clay of the farmland and dikes of the region. Meanwhile, that same year, the clubhouse of the former vv Hunsingo nearby is knocked down. 
• 2020 / The new ground of vv Winsum, the Geert Reinders-Sportpark, is inaugurated, with the club having six pitches at its disposal from now on – including the three pitches of vv Hunsingo at its northern end (the former main pitch of Sportpark Schilligeham is Pitch/Veld 4 in the new set-up), and the main pitch (laid out in grass) being surrounded by two new synthetic pitches. The choice of naming the facilities after Geert Reinders is original. Reinders (1737-1815) was a farmer in the hamlet of Bellingeweer, who undertook pioneering livestock disease research, moreover also being the founder of assurance company Sociëteit van Onderlinge Bijstand (modern-day Univé-Verzekeringen), intended to protect farmers against the harmful effects of barn-fires. Following the inauguration of the new park, Sportpark Schouwerzijlsterweg is abandoned.
• 2023 / Finishing in sixth place in Saturday League 1F, vv Winsum qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by CVV Broekster Boys (2-1).

Note – More extensive histories of vv Hunsingo and CVV Viboa, the predecessor clubs of vv Winsum, can be found in articles dedicated to Sportpark Schilligeham and Sportpark Schouwerzijlsterweg respectively. 

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

NETHERLANDS: VVIJ

Sportpark Groenvliet Zuid, IJsselstein (RKVVIJ, in practice always referred to as VVIJ)

Netherlands, province: Utrecht

21 II 2026 / VVIJ - RKVV Onze Gezellen 3-2 / District West I, Regional Cup R3

Timeline

• 1926 / Foundation of a Roman Catholic football club in IJsselstein, which takes on the name Sparta – but has to change its denomination upon applying for membership of the Utrechtsche Provinciale Voetbalbond (UPVB), the Utrecht sub-branch of the Netherlands’ official Football Association (NVB, later KNVB). Thereupon, the name VVIJ is adopted  – officially RKVVIJ, Roomsch-Katholieke Voetbalvereeniging IJsselstein, but this full name is hardly ever used, not even in pre-war source material. Jac van de Tier is chosen as the new club’s first chairman. The creation of VVIJ (Sparta) coincides with the foundation of various other clubs in the region, with SV Saestum, VSV Vreeswijk, SO Soest, and JSV all being formed that same year. The first pitch of VVIJ is situated at Hoge Biezen.
• 1927 / After one year in the ranks of the UPVB, VVIJ chooses to change allegiance by joining the Roomsch-Katholieke Utrechtsche Voetbalbond (RKUVB), one of the sub-branches of the Roman Catholic Football Federation, RKF (Roomsch-Katholieke Federatie). 
• 1928 / VVIJ wins promotion from the ranks of the RKUVB to the nationwide divisions of the RKF, probably being placed in the so-called Overgangsklasse – and winning promotion to RKF Division 2 (renamed IVCB Division 2 in 1932 – IVCB standing for Interdiocesane Voetbalcompetitiebond) in one of the subsequent two seasons.
• 1930 / Moving away from Terrein Hoge Biezen after four years, VVIJ settles on a newly laid-out pitch, Terrein Noord-IJsseldijk. That same year, a Saturday club is founded in IJsselstein, IJFC (IJsselsteinsche Football Club), a non-confessional club.
• 1933 / Clinching the title in IVCB Division 2, VVIJ goes on to win the championship play-offs against VVA and KSV Limvio, resulting in the club acceding to Division 1, the top tier of the IVCB pyramid.
• 1934 / Moving away from Terrein Noord-IJsseldijk after four years, VVIJ settles on a newly laid-out pitch, Terrein Zwarte Dijk. Some time in the post-war years, the club moved again, to Sportterrein Hogeland, and later to Terrein IJsseloever, but it is unclear in which years the relocations took place.
• 1940 / As the RKF/IVCB, the RKUVB as well as all other football federations other than the official Netherlands’ Football Association (renamed NVB for the duration of World War II) are wound up in the face of prospective orders to be expected from German authorities, VVIJ joins the NVB, being placed in NVB District West I’s Sunday League 3 for the 1940-41 season.
• 1942 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 3F, VVIJ descends into Sunday League 4.
• 1943 / VVIJ finishes as runner-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4M, 6 points behind champions vv RUC.
• 1950 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4L, 5 points ahead of closest rivals vv Amsvorde, VVIJ fails to win promotion in the subsequent round of championship play-offs.
• 1955 / VVIJ finishes as runner-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4H along with vv Amsvorde, 10 points behind runaway champions JSV.
• 1963 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4H, 1 point ahead of closest rivals ASV Meerboys, VVIJ manages a return to Sunday League 3 after an absence of twenty years.
• 1966 / Finishing in second-last place in District West I’s Sunday League 3D, VVIJ drops back into Sunday League 4 along with bottom club vv Veenendaal.
• 1967 / Finishing top of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 4H along with vv Amsvorde, VVIJ goes on to defeat the club from Amersfoort in a tie-break match for the title (1-0). As such, VVIJ manages an immediate return to Sunday League 3.
• 1969 / Finishing top of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 3D with USV Holland, VVIJ goes on to defeat the club from Utrecht in a tie-break match for the title – thus acceding to Sunday League 2 for the first time in club history.
• 1973 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 2B, VVIJ drops back into Sunday League 3 alongside the club in second-last place, SV Hoofddorp.
• 1979 / Frans Adelaar, an 18-year-old midfielder who had joined FC Utrecht’s youth academy from VVIJ two years previously, makes his professional league debut at FC Utrecht, going on to wear the red-and-white shirt in 234 league matches in the following eleven years – withdrawing into non-league with vv DOVO in 1990. Later on, Adelaar would have a long career as a trainer with a long string of league and non-league clubs.
• 1981 / Moving away from Sportterrein IJsseloever, VVIJ settles on the newly laid-out Sportpark Groenvliet, along with village rivals IJFC. With IJFC finding its new home on the northern part of the park, VVIJ settles on its southern half – with the two main pitches being adjacent to one another. VVIJ inaugurates its new ground with a gala match against FC Utrecht (0-6).
• 1982 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 3D, VVIJ descends into Sunday League 4, along with the club in second-last place, HVV ‘t Gooi.
• 1984 / VVIJ finishes as runner-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4H, 3 points behind champions SV Saestum.
• 1989 / VVIJ finishes as runner-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4H, 2 points behind champions JSV Nieuwegein. Also in 1989, former VVIJ youth academy player Raymond Victoria makes his professional league debut at Feyenoord Rotterdam at the age of seventeen. The midfielder would go on to have spells at FC Bayern München, BV De Graafschap, Willem II, AEK Larnaca, and ADO Den Haag, hanging up his boots in 2008. Moreover, Victoria, whose ancestry was from Curaçao, won 3 caps for the Netherlands’ Antilles in 2003.
• 1994 / Former VVIJ youth academy player Remco Heerkens makes his professional league debut at SBV Excelsior at the age of seventeen. The midfielder would go on to have spells at RBC Roosendaal, ADO Den Haag, Rot-Weiss Essen, FC Dordrecht, KV Oostende, and FC Omniworld, withdrawing into non-league football in 2008.
• 1996 / Finishing top of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 4H alongside vv MSV ’19, VVIJ goes on to suffer defeat in a tie-break match for the title against the club from Montfoort, thus missing out on promotion.
• 1998 / Former VVIJ youth academy player Ruud Berger makes his professional league debut at FC Utrecht at the age of eighteen. The midfielder would go on to have spells at Cambuur-Leeuwarden, FC Emmen, FC Zwolle, and RKC Waalwijk, hanging up his boots in 2010.
• 1999 / Finishing bottom of the table in the Central District’s Sunday League 4H, VVIJ descends into Sunday League 5 for the first time in club history, along with the club in second-last place, DEV.
• 2001 / Champions in the Central District’s Sunday League 5A, 6 points ahead of closest rivals HC&FC Victoria, VVIJ manages a return to Sunday League 4 in the year of the club’s 75th anniversary.
• 2004 / VVIJ finishes as runner-up in District West I’s Sunday League 4H, 12 points behind runaway champions vv Amsvorde.
• 2005 / Champions in District West I’s Sunday League 4H, 6 points ahead of closest followers AVV HVC, VVIJ wins promotion to Sunday League 3 after an absence of 23 years at that level. The successful coach is Michel Blokker.
• 2006 / Winning back-to-back titles, RKVVIJ finishes top of the table in District West I’s Sunday League 3D, 15 points ahead of closest followers vv Brederodes. As such, the club manages a return to Sunday League 2 after an absence of 33 years at that level. The successful coach, Michel Blokker, leaves the club after the 2005-06 season.
• 2010 / Champions in Sunday League 2B, 1 point ahead of closest rivals RKSV Pancratius, VVIJ wins promotion to Sunday League 1 for the first time in club history. The successful coach is Herman Wallenburg.
• 2012 / In the best season in club history, VVIJ manages a sixth place in Sunday League 1A, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. Seeing off RKSV VELO in the semis (3-3 aggr. & penalty shoot-out), the club misses out on promotion to Zondag Hoofdklasse by a whisker, narrowly losing out to vv DHC (3-2 aggr.).
• 2013 / Finishing in third-last place in Sunday League 1A with coach Herman Wallenburg, VVIJ has to save its skin in the promotion-relegation play-offs, failing to do so by suffering defeat in a spectacular R1 match against SO Soest (9-8 aggr.). As such, the club drops back into Sunday League 2 after three years, along with ASV DWV, VPV Purmersteijn, and bottom club FC Blauw-Wit Amsterdam. In the summer of 2013, the main pitch of Sportpark Groenvliet Zuid is laid out anew with a synthetic surface. Also in 2013, former VVIJ youth academy player Sean Klaiber makes his professional league debut at Jong FC Utrecht at the age of nineteen; the defender would go on to have spells at FC Utrecht, FC Dordrecht, AFC Ajax, and Brøndby IF – moreover winning his first cap for Surinam in 2021.
• 2014 / Runner-up in Sunday League 2B, 1 point behind champions SO Soest, VVIJ qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club manages successive wins over VSV (zo) (3-1 aggr.) and SV Hoofddorp (3-3 aggr. & penalty shoot-out), resulting in an immediate return to Sunday League 1. The successful coach is David Vecht.
• 2015 / Equalling the best achievement in club history from 2012, VVIJ finishes in sixth place in Sunday League 1A; however, this time around, the club misses out on the promotion play-offs.
• 2016 / Finishing in eleventh place in Sunday League 1A with coach David Vecht, VVIJ has to stave off relegation in the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club edges past vv West Frisia in the semis (3-2 aggr.), only to stumble over RKVV Velsen in the final (2-1 aggr.). As such, the club drops back into Sunday League 2 after two years, alongside, vv De Zouaven, AFC Quick 1890, and bottom club SV De Foresters.
• 2020 / In parallel to a team in the Sunday divisions, VVIJ chooses to enter a regular first team in the Saturday leagues as well, with VVIJ (za) starting its existence in District West I’s Saturday League 4.
• 2022 / Finishing in eleventh place in Sunday League 2B with coach Fabian Schaken, VVIJ has to stave off relegation in the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club edges past VSV (zo) in R1 (1-1 & penalty shoot-out), only to suffer defeat in the final against AVV ZSGOWMS (2-1). As such, the club drops back into Sunday League 3 along with FC Jeugd and bottom club SV Nieuw Utrecht. However, with the Netherlands’ FA offering clubs the opportunity to change from one pyramid to the other without having to restart at the bottom level, VVIJ chooses to abandon Sunday league football, a tradition of nearly 100 years, in favour of a new existence in the Saturday divisions, being placed in District West I’s Saturday League 3D for the 2022-23 season. Thereby, the Sunday team replaces the original Saturday team, which finished in third place in Saturday League 4H and withdrew from the promotion play-offs. 
• 2023 / Former VVIJ youth academy midfielder Espen van Ee makes his professional league debut at SC Heerenveen at the age of twenty. Van Ee would go on to have a subsequent spell at FC Arouca.
• 2024 / Runner-up in District West I’s Saturday League 3D, with an equal number of points as champions USV Elinkwijk, but with a slightly inferior goal difference (+39 vs. +38), VVIJ has to make do with a place in the promotion play-offs, in which the club stumbles over the first hurdle, VVOP (2-2 & penalty shoot-out).
• 2025 / Champions in District West I’s Saturday League 3D, 1 point ahead of closest rivals SCH ’44, VVIJ wins promotion to Saturday League 2.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

ENGLAND: Milton Keynes Dons FC

Stadium MK, Milton Keynes (Milton Keynes Dons FC a.k.a. MK Dons FC)

England, county: Buckinghamshire

17 II 2026 / Milton Keynes Dons FC - Crawley Town FC 0-0 / EFL League 2 (= ENG level 4)

Timeline

• 1967 / Foundation of the new town of Milton Keynes. At designation, its area incorporated the existing towns of Bletchley, Fenny Stratford, Wolverton and Stony Stratford, along with another fifteen villages and farmland in between. From the first days of Milton Keynes as a new town, the Milton Keynes Development Corporation envisaged a stadium capable of accommodating a top-flight football team.
• 1977 / Wimbledon FC, a club from South London founded in 1909, is elected to the Football League, replacing the bottom team in Football League Division 4, Workington AFC, following a successful application. Wimbledon FC would go on to be hugely successful in the following decades, winning promotion to the top flight of English Football (Division 1, later renamed FA Premiership / Premier League) in 1985 – due to hold out at that level for fifteen years – and winning the FA Cup in 1988.
• 1995 / In Milton Keynes, the newly built National Hockey Stadium is inaugurated. It has a covered stand running the full length of one side of the pitch, opposite of which is an unroofed stand running about one third of the length of the pitch, straddling the halfway line. This field hockey stadium with a synthetic pitch and a capacity of 4,000 became the venue for national and international hockey events. 
• 2000 / What would become Stadium MK is proposed for the first time by the Milton Keynes Stadium Consortium or Stadium MK, led by Pete Winkelman and his company Inter MK Group. This consortium proposes a large development in the southern Milton Keynes district of Denbigh North, including a 30,000 capacity football stadium and a retail park. However, given that there was still no football club in Milton Keynes even near the higher echelons of non-league football, the development of such a stadium could not be justified. Therefore, the consortium started talks with various Football League clubs about moving to the projected stadium, including Luton Town FC, Crystal Palace FC, Barnet FC, Queens Park Rangers FC, and Wimbledon FC. 
• 2001 / Wimbledon FC, groundsharers at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park since 1991, adopt the Milton Keynes plan following the appointment of a new chairman, Charles Koppel, who claimed that a move away from London was necessary to prevent Wimbledon’s going out of business altogether. He announced Wimbledon’s intent to move in August 2001 with a letter to the Football League requesting approval, stating that Wimbledon had already signed an agreement to relocate and, “subject to the necessary planning and regulatory consents being obtained”, intended to be playing home games at a newly built stadium in Milton Keynes by the start of the 2003-04 season. With the proposed move being broadly opposed, the League Board unanimously rejected Wimbledon’s plans in the summer of 2001.
• 2002 / With Wimbledon FC chairman Charles Koppel appealing against the decision of the League Board, a three-man independent commission is appointed by the FA. In spite of opposition from the League Board as well as the FA itself, the commissioners would go on to rule in favour of Koppel’s plan, two to one. Wimbledon hoped to move to Milton Keynes immediately, but as the new ground was yet to be built, an interim home in the town would have to be found first. The first proposal, to start the 2002-03 season at the National Hockey Stadium, was abandoned, because the field hockey ground did not meet the Football League’s criteria. While alternative temporary options were examined, Wimbledon started the season at Selhurst Park and set a target of playing in Milton Keynes by Christmas 2002. A temporary stadium in Milton Keynes proved difficult to arrange and Wimbledon F.C. remained at Selhurst Park for the duration of the 2002-03 season. Meanwhile, a group of Wimbledon FC fans protested by setting up AFC Wimbledon, to which the vast majority of fans switched allegiance, in the summer of 2002, with this phoenix club starting its existence in the Combined Counties League Premier Division, playing their home games at Kingsmeadow in Kingston upon Thames as groundsharers of Kingstonian FC. 
• 2003 / With Charles Koppel announcing a plan to convert the National Hockey Stadium for league football in time for the start of the 2003-04 season, Wimbledon FC enters administration in June 2003. After the club missed a deadline to invest in renovations to the stadium, the administrators arranged a return to Selhurst Park. With the move to Milton Keynes threatened and the club facing liquidation, investor Pete Winkelman made “the life-defining decision of taking it on himself,” securing funds to pay the players’ wages, keep the club operating, and pay for the necessary amendments to the hockey stadium. A grass pitch was laid and temporary stands were added at either end of the pitch, raising total capacity to 9,000. Hockey matches were reallocated to various leading club grounds across the country. After hosting the first few home matches of the 2003-04 campaign at Selhurst Park, Wimbledon FC played their first match in Milton Keynes in September 2003.
• 2004 / A company voluntary arrangement is put together in early 2004, under which Winkelman’s consortium would take Wimbledon FC out of administration, reportedly using a holding company called MK Dons. The Football League threatened to expel the club, if the takeover were not completed by the end of July. Eventually, Winkelman’s Inter MK Group brought Wimbledon FC out of administration in late June 2004 and concurrently announced changes to its name to Milton Keynes Dons FC (commonly shortened to MK Dons). Following the relegation of Wimbledon FC from Football League 1, having finished bottom of the table in the second level of English football, Milton Keynes Dons FC starts its life in Football League 2 – confusingly renamed Football League 1, as the second tier of the football pyramid is renamed Football Championship. In its first league match, MK Dons FC manages a 1-1 draw against Barnsley FC at the National Hockey Stadium, with Izale McLeod scoring the club’s first-ever professional league goal. McLeod would go on to complete two spells with MK Dons (2004-07 & 2013-14), in the course of which he scored 71 goals – making him the club’s all-time top scorer. In the course of the 2004-05 season, in which the club struggles in Football League 1, a new manager is brought in, the experienced former Northern Ireland international Danny Wilson, who had enjoyed a long professional league career at Wigan Athletic FC, Bury FC, Chesterfield FC, Nottingham Forest FC, Scunthorpe United FC, Brighton & Hove Albion FC, Sheffield Wednesday FC, and Barnsley FC.
• 2005 / Construction of the new-to-be built football stadium in the Denbigh area of Milton Keynes gets underway in February 2005.
• 2006 / Finishing in third-last place in Football League 1, MK Dons FC descends into Football League 2, the fourth and lowest tier of the English football pyramid, along with Hartlepool United FC, Swindon Town FC, and bottom club Walsall FC. Manager Danny Wilson leaves the club after one-and-a-half years in charge.
• 2007 / Finishing in fourth place in Football League 2, MK Dons FC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in the semis against Shrewsbury Town FC (2-1 aggr.). For the new season, the club signs former England international midfielder Paul Ince as its new manager. Ince had just finished his playing career with spells at West Ham United FC, Manchester United FC, FC Internazionale, Liverpool FC, Middlesbrough FC, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, Swindon Town FC, and Macclesfield Town FC. Meanwhile, in July 2007, the new Stadium MK, an all-seater venue (capacity: 22,000), sees its first action, a restricted-entrance event against a young Chelsea FC XI, with the construction being officially inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II on November 29th, 2007. Two weeks previously, Stadium MK had already hosted an England U21 international against Bulgaria (2-0). Meanwhile, at the National Hockey Stadium, the temporary stands at both ends are removed, reducing total capacity to the original 4,000. By this time, the stadium was no longer regarded as a viable venue for field hockey, especially as plans were in place to build the Olympic Hockey Centre in Stratford, London, as part of the 2012 Summer Olympics facilities. The venue was not used notably in the years following the departure of MK Dons FC.
• 2008 / Champions in Football League 2, 5 points ahead of closest rivals Peterborough United FC, MK Dons FC wins promotion to Football League 1 alongside the aforementioned club as well as Hereford United FC and play-off winners Stockport County FC. Furthermore, MK Dons goes on to win the FA Trophy, defeating Grimsby Town FC in the final at Wembley Stadium (2-0, goals by Keith Andrews & Sean O’Hanlon). Following the 2007-08 season, the successful manager Paul Ince leaves the club to join Blackburn Rovers FC, being succeeded at Stadium MK by former Italian international midfielder Roberto Di Matteo, who had enjoyed a colourful professional league career with spells at FC Schaffhausen, FC Zürich, FC Aarau, SS Lazio, and Chelsea FC. One of Di Matteo’s signings is 35-year-old former Norwegian international striker Tore André Flo, who joins MK Dons from Leeds United FC. Flo had previously had spells at, among other clubs, Chelsea FC, Rangers FC, Sunderland AFC, and AC Siena. Meanwhile, in the fall of 2008, the owners of the National Hockey Stadium site, English Partnerships, announced agreement with Network Rail to make the site of the ground available for a new headquarters building, which meant that the stadium faced demolition.
• 2009 / Finishing in third place in Football League 1, MK Dons FC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in the semis against Scunthorpe United FC (0-0 aggr. & penalty shoot-out).  Following the 2008-09 season, manager Roberto Di Matteo leaves the club, signing a deal with West Bromwich Albion FC. Veteran striker Tore André Flo follows his example, as he returns to his childhood club in Norway, Sogndall Fotball. With another England U21 match being hosted at Stadium MK, a 7-0 rout of Azerbaijan, the FA awards Candidate Host City status to Milton Keynes in England’s unsuccessful 2018 World Cup bid. Had England won the bid, Stadium MK would have had to be increased to 44,000. Meanwhile, in December 2009, the demolition of the National Hockey Stadium got underway.
• 2010 / With demolition works being completed, the site of the National Hockey Stadium is cleared by March 2010, with the Network Rail’s national operations centre in Milton Keynes being opened on the location of the former sports venue in June 2012. Meanwhile, in June 2010, Stadium Mk hosted its first-ever full international friendly, with Ghana beating Latvia (1-0) in a warm-up before the World Cup in South Africa. For the 2010-11 season, MK Dons FC signs 37-year-old former German international Dietmar Hamann of Manchester City FC as their player-manager. Hamann had previously had spells as a player at FC Bayern München, Newcastle United FC, and Liverpool FC. 
• 2011 / Finishing in fifth place in Football League 1, MK Dons FC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in the semis by Peterborough united FC (4-3 aggr.). Manager Dietmar Hamann leaves the club after just one season.
• 2012 / Finishing in fifth place in Football League 1, MK Dons FC bows out in the semifinals of the promotion play-offs yet again, this time suffering a 3-2 aggregate defeat against Huddersfield Town AFC. In December 2012, the club faces AFC Wimbledon, the phoenix club from Kingston upon Thames which had won promotion to League 2 in 2011, for the first time, managing a narrow 2-1 FA Cup R2 win thanks to a Jon Otsemobor goal in injury time.
• 2013 / In their best FA Cup run so far, MK Dons FC reaches R5, in which the club is eliminated by Barnsley FC (1-3). Meanwhile, Stadium MK is chosen as one of the venues for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, with the stadium due to be expanded with a second tier to allow 30,500 spectators to attend matches.
• 2014 / In March 2014, Stadium MK sees Wolverhampton Wanderers FC take a record away attendance of 8,943 supporters in a League 1 fixture; total attendance for the match was 20,516. Later that year, as the unfinished second tier of the stadium was first used, a record 26,969 crowd witnessed a shock historic 4-0 win over Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United FC in R2 of the League Cup in August of the same year.
• 2015 / Runners-up in Football League 1, 8 points behind champions Bristol City FC, MK Dons FC wins promotion to the Football Championship along with the aforementioned club and play-off winners Preston North End FC. The successful manager is Karl Robins. The hugely talented 19-year-old midfielder Dele Alli, who had made his league debut three years previously after working his way through the MK Dons’ youth academy, leaves the club to sign a contract with Tottenham Hotspur FC. Alli, who won his first cap for England that same year, went on to have spells at Everton FC, Beşiktaş JK, and Como 1907. In the meantime, with the second tier of the stadium being finished in May 2015, Stadium MK hosted three matches in the Rugby World Cup in October of the same year; France-Canada, Samoa-Japan, and Fiji-Uruguay – with the last-mentioned match drawing a new record attendance of 30,048 to the ground.
• 2016 / Finishing in second-last place in the Football Championship, MK Dons FC drops back into Football League 1 after just one year, along with Charlton Athletic FC, and bottom club Bolton Wanderers FC. Manager Karl Robins leaves the club after six seasons. 
• 2017 / In February 2017, a record league attendance of 21,545 is set at Stadium MK for the MK Dons FC fixture against Bolton Wanderers FC.
• 2018 / Under the aegis of caretaker manager, who had taken over following previous spells under Robbie Neilson and Dan Micciche, MK Dons FC finishes in second-last place in Football League 1, thus descending into Football League 2 along with Oldham Athletic FC, Northampton Town FC, and bottom club Bury FC. In September 2018, while White Hart Lane, the stadium of Tottenham Hotspur FC, was completely reconstructed, Spurs played one league game at Stadium MK, the fixture against Watford FC, with the remainder of the club’s exile being spent at Wembley Stadium. 
• 2019 / Finishing in third place in Football League 2, MK Dons FC wins promotion to Football League 1 along with champions Lincoln City FC, Bury FC, and play-off winners Tranmere Rovers FC. The successful manager is Paul Tisdale. In September 2019, a crowd of 28,521 attended to see MK Dons lose 2-0 to Liverpool FC in a League Cup R3 fixture – a record attendance for a football match at the stadium.
• 2022 / Finishing in third place in Football League 1, MK Dons FC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in the semis by Wycombe Wanderers FC (2-1 aggr.).
• 2023 / Finishing in fourth-last place in Football League 1 with manager Mark Jackson, MK Dons FC drops back into Football League 2 after four years, along with Morecambe FC, Accrington Stanley FC, and bottom club Forest Green Rovers FC. 
• 2024 / Finishing in fourth place in Football League 2, MK Dons FC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in the semis by Crawley Town FC (8-1 aggr.).
• 2025 / Defender Dean Lewington, who had spent 21 consecutive seasons at MK Dons FC after joining from Wimbledon FC in 2004, hangs up his boots after 917 official matches for the club (791 in the league), a club record.

 

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author