28 December 2023 , 00:01
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Tony Blair wanted to relocate a troubled Premier League team to Northern Ireland in the late 1990s, newly declassified documents reveal.
The former Prime Minister thought it would be "excellent" if Wimbledon moved to Belfast and was keen to encourage the move. A memo dated July 16, 1998, showed Mr Blair was keen on the possibility, which ultimately came to nothing as the side made a contentious move to Milton Keynes instead.
Confidential state papers included a note "following up earlier informal discussions about the possibility of an English Premier League football club relocating to Belfast". The document said such a move would be a "significant breakthrough" and a "positive unifying force".
Memos also suggested South London club Wimbledon FC could change its name to Belfast United. Weeks after the Good Friday Agreement a Government note recorded that Mr Blair thought it would be "excellent if Wimbledon were to move to Belfast and we should encourage this as much as possible".
Government documents from 1997 suggested that a new 40,000 seater stadium could be built on Queen's Island in East Belfast or in the north of the city. But officials noted opposition from existing clubs in the province, who warned relocating a Premier League club there could "kill off the game in Northern Ireland".
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TV presenter Eamonn Holmes and three local newspapers "had been active in collecting public support", the files show. A note from then-chief press secretary Alistair Campbell also said Wimbledon owner Sam Hamman "had explored the possibility of moving Wimbledon to Dublin, but this seems to have come to naught".
Wimbledon made a controversial move to Milton Keynes in 2002, and the club was renamed MK Dons.