Imagine forming a soccer team with your friends in the neighborhood and, in the space of two decades, seeing this team become a power of amateur football, winning no less than 11 hits in this period.
This is the incredible story of Dorking Wanderers, a team that started as a “joke” between old partners, but today dreams seriously about reaching the elite of the English Championship.
It all started in September 1999, when Wimbledon went into crisis and the owners of the team started talking about changing the city team (which would end up happening years later). In the midst of it all, Marc White, a fanatic fan of the club, decided to occupy his Saturdays in another way.
“I thought, ‘Why not start something with my friends and have a laugh? That’s how Dorking Wanderers was born,” White said in an interview with the newspaper. The Guardian.
So, the friends got together and started to dispute the district divisions of England, using as a “stadium” a field of the city hall, which charged 50 pounds per game for rent.
“We were 14 guys, each paying 50 pounds. For Saturday’s amateur football in England, any level will do. And that’s how it started,” recalled the president and manager the club.
Only, it got serious over the years.
With a good campaign after a good campaign, the Dorking Wanderers started to climb non-stop in the amateur leagues and is now in the North / South Conference, the 6th English division.
There are only two more accesses for the club to reach the League 2, which is England’s 4th division and 1st in professional terms – then the League 1, a Championship it’s at Premier League.
With the success, sponsorships and the entry of real money also came, which allowed the group of friends to even build a small stadium, the Meadowbank, in 2007.
Today, the team even has a small group of passionate fans, who occupy the 3 thousand seats in the “arena”.
“We got 11 hits in 19 years, a record in Britain. It’s like it was the Football Manager of real life, “praised Marc White.
“As you move up the division, you have to keep investing in infrastructure. It started all over the city hall. When we got the first access, we had to put a rope around the lawn, which was a ‘protective barrier’ between fans and players. (laughs) Then came the night lights, the seats … Today, we have a stadium for 3 thousand people! “, he prided himself.
According to White, the goal is to continue to keep Dorking Wanderers as a “club of friends”, without gigantic overseas sponsors or extravagant owners, as in Premier League.
Everything in the team is financed through small local sponsors, who invest in reinforcements for the cast and give their monthly quota to see the team continue to grow.
“The first athlete we paid something for was Jason Prior, who we bought from Havant for 15,000 pounds (R $ 78,17 thousand). We needed a real striker, a matador, and our partners were willing to pay for it. Thanks the penalty? Completely! He’s unbelievable! “, he praised.
Today, Dorking has a reserve team and even basic categories. Currently, there are 1,150 young people enrolled in the club’s school, which accepts students from 4 years of age.
According to White, the goal is for the club to be a source of pride for the small town of 12,000 inhabitants.
“When I drive through Dorking today, I see parents and their children wearing the team’s shirt. The team has become the meeting point of the community,” he celebrated.
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