Manifesto published
The full Wombleton 2026 manifesto is now available on this site and in the campaign pack. Five commitments, set out plainly. Members are encouraged to read it, and then to read the fifth one again.
Working for a Better Tomorrow, Today.
Wesley Wombleton has confirmed his intention to stand in the 2026 Dons Trust Board election.
The Candidate
About Wesley Wombleton
Wesley Wombleton has supported Wimbledon for longer than he is prepared to put in writing. Kingsmeadow in the lean years. Aldershot away more times than was strictly necessary. Plough Lane on the day it reopened, and on several quieter days since.
Professionally, Wesley has spent two decades in operations and governance. Committee structure. Member communication. Budget oversight. The orderly closure of projects that have run their course. He can read a set of accounts, and he can explain them to people who would rather be talking about football.
He has attended every Special General Meeting since 2019, including the ones that were adjourned. He has read every set of published minutes, and noted the unpublished ones. In his spare time he draws cartoons of the board. He considers this a form of engagement. He has also proposed that board meetings be documented by a resident artist. He considers this consistent with his existing practice.
Wesley believes the Dons Trust is the right model for AFC Wimbledon. He also believes the right model can be run better. These are not competing beliefs, whatever anyone on a forum tells you.
5
Manifesto
Manifesto
Commitments
1.Clearer Communication
Every candidate promises better communication. Wesley will go further, and deliver it. His programme: regular bi-monthly meetings open to members, a monthly email newsletter, and an annual membership survey. Wesley has costed these proposals in full and is confident they are achievable.
2.Measurable Progress
Wesley's track record speaks for itself, because he has measured it. Progress under Wesley will be tracked through a proprietary framework of Wombleton Performance Indicators (WPIs), developed and refined over two decades in operations. The methodology is available to members on request.
3.A Working Group Amnesty
The Trust currently operates a number of working groups. The precise number is not published, which is itself instructive. Wesley will declare a working group amnesty. Every group will have ninety days to demonstrate that it has met, produced minutes, and can state its purpose in one sentence.
Groups that pass will be reconstituted as Working Parties. Groups that do not will be thanked, minuted, and closed.
4.Protecting the 50+1
The membership voted. Wesley will act. Any future investor approaching the club will be required to complete a morality test before discussions proceed. The test will be administered by Wesley. Results will be scored against the WPI framework.
Pass marks are yet to be published.
5.The Wimbledon Old Board Members Advisory Trust (WOMBAT)*
Wesley will establish the WOMBAT: a formal advisory body drawn exclusively from former Dons Trust Board members. Their experience is unmatched. Their availability is assumed. The WOMBATs will meet quarterly, produce minutes, and advise the board on matters referred to it. It will also advise the board on matters not referred to it.
Former board members know best. We should utilise their expertise.
* Wesley acknowledges that the correct acronym for this body is WOBMAT. He has reviewed this position and concluded that governance, like life, is not perfect. The decision to proceed with WOMBAT reflects the kind of pragmatic, decisive leadership members can expect.
6.A Members' Dividend
Should the Trust close the financial year in surplus, Wesley will propose that part of it fund a modest matchday subsidy on San Miguel for Dons Trust members. This is not the centrepiece of the manifesto. But it is in the manifesto.
In His Own Words
Candidate Statement
I am standing for the Dons Trust Board because I believe the Trust is worth running well.
I have supported this club through Kingsmeadow, through the return to Plough Lane, and through more league positions than I care to list. I have been a Dons Trust member for a considerable period. I attend the general meetings. I read the minutes. I notice when they arrive late, and I notice when they do not arrive at all.
Professionally, I have spent twenty years in operations and governance roles. I have chaired committees, closed committees, and on one occasion merged two committees that turned out to be the same committee. I know the difference between governance that produces outcomes and governance that produces agendas.
Fan ownership is not the obstacle to this club's progress. It is the reason the club exists. But a model built on trust has to keep earning it, and right now too much of the relationship between the board and the membership runs on patience rather than information. That is not a scandal. It is a habit. Habits can be changed.
Some members will not recognise my name. I regard this as a strength. I arrive with no faction, no stored grievances, and no old disputes to be relitigated at my expense. Other members will know me from my drawings of the board. I stand by the likenesses.
What I am offering is unglamorous. Clear communication. Measurable progress. A working group amnesty. Protection of the 50+1. The wisdom of the WOMBAT. And, surplus permitting, a modest reduction in the cost of a San Miguel. If that sounds modest, I would gently point out that modest, delivered, beats ambitious, deferred.
I would be grateful for your vote.
Wesley Wombleton
Support
Endorsements
“He listens, he takes notes, and he follows up. That should not be remarkable. It currently is.”Dons Trust member since 2003
“Finally, a candidate with a position on working groups.”Matchday volunteer, Plough Lane
“I did not expect to agree with a man who draws cartoons of the board. I have surprised myself.”Season ticket holder, West Stand
Materials
Campaign Pack
PDF
PDF
PDF
Campaign Poster
A3 and A4 formats. Suitable for home printing and front windows.
Download A4 Download A3
PDF
Election Leaflet
A4 tri-fold. For members who prefer paper, of whom there are more than you would think.
DownloadUpdates
Campaign News
Campaign website launches
The official Wombleton 2026 campaign website is now live. The site was built in house, on time, and under budget, which the campaign offers as a statement of intent. All materials and updates will be published here through the nomination and election period.
Wesley confirms intention to stand
Wesley Wombleton has confirmed his intention to stand in the 2026 Dons Trust Board election. The decision follows a period of reflection, and one conversation in the Phoenix that went on longer than planned.