Wimbledon Football Club fans are renewing their fight to bring the Dons back home with the added backing of MP Roger Casale.

With the start of the new season, the Wimbledon MP has pledged to lend his weight to the campaign and has created a special task force to plan future strategies.

The task force held its first private meeting last week chaired by Mr Casale at his Wimbledon offices and is understood to be supported by representatives from across the community.

The MP told the Guardian: "The meeting was extremely successful, very positive, and a series of future meetings have been planned.

"The history of Wimbledon Football Club is part of the history of our town.

"When the club won the FA cup ten years ago it was a defining moment for Wimbledon - the whole town was united outside the civic hall.

"Bringing the Dons back home is about showing that the benefits to the community are huge - this is a crucial aim of the task force.

"There are also real benefits to the club to return if a suitable site can be found.

"But the decision to come back to Merton is not one I can take. It is for the club to decide and the council to facilitate."

A spokesman for Wimbledon Independent Supporter's Association said: "This is an excellent idea and a very positive step. We campaigned last year for a working party and collected 3,500 signatures which we handed to the council and this has obviously had some sort of effect.

"We remain optimistic about the outcome as we have always been, even through the darkest days when the club was rumoured to be moving to Dublin."

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