Revealed: UK Prime Minister Tony Blair wanted to relocate Wimbledon FC to Belfast in 1990s

State papers dating back to 1997 were recently made public, which shed light on Blair's unorthodox intentions for a shift within the football pyramid. According to The Guardian, a note within these records mentions a follow up on "earlier informal discussions" about the possible relocation to Belfast. This move was described as a "significant breakthrough", which could provide "a positive unifying force in a divided city".

Such discussions, the papers indicate, took place at the highest levels of government in 1997, as the Blair administration laid the foundations for the Good Friday agreement the following year. In these plans, Wimbledon FC would have been renamed Belfast United, and could have been introduced alongside a privately-funded 40,000-seater stadium, as well as an academy for sport.

Blair was supported by then permanent secretary of the Northern Ireland Department of the Environment, Ronnie Spence. He backed the Belfast-based side to enhance the city's reputation from "performing at the top level in English and European competitions". Wimbledon FC, at the time, were a mid-table Premier League club.

Crucially, though, Blair's Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam opposed, raising issues with safety in particular. Gerry Loughran, Blair's permanent secretary at the Department of Economic Development, pointed towards the club's mediocre league standing, which made it hard to enhance Belfast's reputation through European competition. Loughran also noted fans' aversion for changing their club loyalties.

Mowlam and Loughran were eventually proven right, as Blair's unorthodox plans never come to fruition. Wimbledon FC relocated to Milton Keynes in 2004 under the name MK Dons, although the controversial nature of the decision has seen many supporters transfer allegiances to AFC Wimbledon. Both clubs now ply their trade in League Two.