The fan-led fundraiser for AFC Wimbledon’s pitch repairs has raised over £100,000.

Work has begun at Plough Lane to fix the sinkhole that emerged on Monday and destroyed a corner of the playing surface after flooding of the nearby River Wandle.

Work has begun at WimbledonAFC Wimbledon

Wimbledon were forced to postpone Tuesday’s third round Carabao Cup clash against Newcastle and move the fixture to next Tuesday at St. James’ Park due to the issue.

The Premier League club donated £15,000 to the fundraiser, which currently stands at £101,732 at the time of writing.

The club have now revealed 100,000 litres of water that had been flooding other areas of the ground has been removed.

On Wednesday, the club confirmed they would also be unable to host Accrington Stanley for their League Two clash this Saturday.

The club said: “Despite significant efforts at AFC Wimbledon in the last 48 hours, it has not been possible to secure a viable alternative ground for Saturday, meaning our game against Accrington Stanley is postponed.”

The statement continued: “Despite significant efforts at AFC Wimbledon in the last 48 hours, it has not been possible to secure a viable alternative ground for Saturday.

“With huge regret, the EFL have therefore postponed the match versus Accrington Stanley.

“Tickets will remain valid for the rearranged date, with more details to follow in due course.”

The club also issued a wider update on the cause of the stadium chaos, as well as giving their thanks to those that have donated towards getting back up and running.

It said: “More than 100,000 litres of water was removed from the grounds late on Monday night via tankers. Since then, several independent experts have been on site to inspect the pitch at surface level.

The pitch won’t be ready for this weekendAFC Wimbledon

“Meanwhile, club staff and volunteers have begun the clean-up operation at ground level including the shop, museum, offices and tunnel area.

“Johnnie Jackson and his coaching staff visited the stadium yesterday to inspect the damage and speak with staff on site.

“Since 6am this morning, diggers have begun the excavation of the pitch area. All stadium staff have returned to work, ahead of the reopening of the stadium planned for Friday, with our comedy fundraising evening proceeding as planned.

“We have been overwhelmed by generous financial contributions from Wimbledon supporters, and supporters of a number of other clubs, to the Justgiving page established by supporter Graham Stacey. Donations now stand at £100,000 from more than 2,000 donors – including a significant donation from Newcastle United. 

“From everyone at the club, thank you to each and every person and organisation who has done so. We are eternally grateful.

“Come on you Dons!”

On Tuesday, AFC Wimbledon vice chairman Ivor Heller told talkSPORT they were unsure when the Wombles will be able to host matches again, but that a plan was to be announced in the coming days.

He also stated works on the pitch could cost the club up to £1million, should they have to replace it.

Videos of work beginning on the field have been posted by the Wombles.

Diggers were seen scooping up the uneven land to begin returning it to its original state.

Flooding led to the ground being unusabletalkSPORT

The ground, dubbed ‘the new Plough Lane’ opened in November 2020, with the team playing in front of no fans due to the COVID pandemic. Their first match with a full capacity crowd was in August 2021.

It’s the second version of their former home of 80 years, before they left to ground share with nearby Crystal Palace for 12 years.

They then moved to Milton Keynes in 2003.

AFC Wimbledon was then formed, whilst the previous outfit began a new life outside of London and were renamed MK Dons.

The phoenix club played at Kingsmeadow Stadium in Kingston, London, for the first 18 years.

The club’s plans to build a new stadium on the site of the Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium were approved in 2015, and construction began in 2018.

Their next home game is scheduled for October 12, with the Wombles set to host League Two side Carlisle.