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John's AFC Wimbledon FIFA series on HankGames, whose ad revenue sponsors the real AFC Wimbledon with Nerdfighter-designed ads (2013)

project history · status: running · last event: milestone (2025-01-14) · last mentioned: 2026-03-17

In November 2013 John began a FIFA 14 series playing as AFC Wimbledon on HankGames, with its ad revenue sponsoring the real club. Nerdfighteria became an official sponsor in 2014, its logo went onto the team's shorts, and later John's FIFA livestreams helped pay for players such as Marcus Browne.

Parts: John asks Nerdfighters to subscribe to HankGames and watch his AFC Wimbledon FIFA videos (2013) · John asks Nerdfighters to design the AFC Wimbledon billboards and program ads (2013) · John asks London-area Nerdfighters to attend AFC Wimbledon's first game with Nerdfighteria as sponsor (2014) · John asks viewers to buy AFC Wimbledon Nerdfighteria scarves, proceeds to the club (2014) · John invites viewers to watch AFC Wimbledon v Liverpool on Fox Sports 1 (2015) · John's Twitch channel for streaming FIFA in support of AFC Wimbledon (2015) · AFC Wimbledon's play-off final against Plymouth Argyle at Wembley (May 30, 2016) · John asks viewers to subscribe to Radio WDON to support AFC Wimbledon (2016) · John asks viewers to join the Dons Trust for 25 pounds to become part owners of AFC Wimbledon (2019) · John asks viewers near Bradford to go to AFC Wimbledon's last game of the season and cheer (2019) · AFC Wimbledon's League Two play-off final at Wembley (May 2025)

Told alongside: HankGames: Hank's channel of commentated game-play videos (2010) · Hanko de Mayo 2018 edition: John's belated birthday present for Hank (Orlando billboards and An Absolutely Remarkable Thing sponsorships) · John points viewers to his No Man's Sky series on HankGames (2016) · John asks clubs, teams and organizations wanting modest sponsorship to email him at sparksflyup@gmail.com (2018) · John: AFC Wimbledon will be promoted from League Two in the 2024-25 season (2025) · John's No Man's Sky series on HankGames (2016) · Games with Hank: Hank's new gaming channel, an episode every day (2014)

About: AFC Wimbledon, HankGames, FIFA 14

date event what video
2013-11-05 launched John launches a FIFA 14 series playing as AFC Wimbledon on HankGames; all ad revenue from the videos will sponsor the real club, with stadium billboards and program ads designed by Nerdfighters. Our Strangest Project Yet? 00:02:44
2014-01-07 milestone John announces the Nerdfighter community is now officially a sponsor of AFC Wimbledon; its messages will be beside the field and in the program at the Torquay game. Warm Things for Cold Times 00:01:34
2014-01-14 milestone AFC Wimbledon plays its first game as a team sponsored by Nerdfighteria, with boards designed by Nerdfighters; Wimbledon lost. Giving Away Over $700,000 00:00:25
2014-05-27 milestone John reports Nerdfighteria-sponsored AFC Wimbledon finished the season 20th, avoiding relegation from the fourth tier. ALL THE SHIRTS (and some paths to community) 00:01:26
2014-07-08 milestone John announces that, thanks to HankGames fans, the increased sponsorship puts Nerdfighteria's design on AFC Wimbledon's shorts next season, and in FIFA 15. The Future of Nerdfighteria 00:03:03
2014-09-19 milestone Hank says John Plays FIFA has raised so much money for the real team that Nerdfighteria's logos are now on its uniforms. The Oculus Rift is Freakin Me Out 00:00:24
2014-10-14 milestone John says this year (2014) the HankGames-funded sponsorship of AFC Wimbledon puts them on the team's shorts (DFTBA). A Minor Crisis 00:02:11
2014-11-21 (said on 2014-11-20, implied) milestone P.S.: John tells Nerdfighters the AFC Wimbly Womblys have just played the most important games in their history, with links in the description. (playful) The Sleepiest Sleepyhead in Sleeptown 00:03:00
2015-01-04 milestone John says the sponsorship, paid by HankGames ad revenue, has grown this year (2015) so Nerdfighteria is on the shorts of AFC Wimbledon's uniform. The Best Worst Thing 00:00:35
2015-01-06 (said on 2015-01-05, implied) milestone At the FA Cup tie, Nerdfighteria-sponsored AFC Wimbledon play Liverpool, with Nerdfighteria in the match day programme and the word Nerdfighter by the pitch. AFC Wimbledon v. Liverpool: Thoughts from the Greatest Game on Earth 00:01:00
2015-03-31 milestone John reports his FIFA team, the Wimbly Womblys, has worked up from League Two and is enjoying its first Premier League season. Hank's Haircut and Related Existential Crises 00:02:10
2015-05-26 milestone John reports Nerdfighteria-sponsored AFC Wimbledon finished the season 15th and stay in League Two as a full-time professional team, so the sponsored shorts appear in the next FIFA game. Sixteen Parts 00:01:24
2015-12-29 milestone John says he is off to play FIFA as the AFC Wimbledon Wimbly-Womblies, which can be found on HankGames. How to Give Away Over a Million Dollars 00:02:33
2016-08-16 milestone John reports AFC Wimbledon is now in League One and 'our' new advertising is up in their stadium. Some Good News: 16 Ways 2016 Is Not a Total Dumpster Fire 00:03:20
2017-01-03 milestone John notes Wimbledon players wear DFTBA on the back of their shorts, visible live in high definition on Saturday. 10 Years on YouTube (...and MORE GREAT NEWS) 00:02:41
2018-08-14 milestone John is very excited for AFC Wimbledon's new season; all 'our' stadium advertisements now advertise An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, reaching third-tier English football supporters. (playful) Question Tuesday: Secrets & Primes 00:02:52
2018-09-11 milestone An Absolutely Remarkable Thing has ads around AFC Wimbledon's stadium and is the club's training kit sponsor, seen before its game against West Ham United. Surprise . . . 00:00:29
2019-04-30 milestone John tells Hank he is the training kit sponsor of AFC Wimbledon, 'America's favorite third-tier English football team'. The Thing with Feathers 00:00:00
2023-10-05 milestone John and his producing partner Rosianna sponsor AFC Wimbledon: the women's team wear a Partners In Health logo on their shirts, the men's team a DFTBA logo on their shorts. America's Second Favorite Fourth Tier English Soccer Team 00:00:57
2024-08-06 milestone A new logo on the back of AFC Wimbledon shorts, between left thigh and buttock, was made by Nerdfighter Jen Koch and is based on space mission patches; John loves it. (playful) What Helped Through Depression 00:01:27
2024-08-20 milestone John says this is the 11th year of sponsoring AFC Wimbledon and he falls deeper in love with the club each year. Thoughts from Places: BROMLEY! 00:01:27
2025-01-14 milestone John announces that the stream money, which at first seemed ludicrous for a whole player, plus matching funds from Sarah and him, has paid for an entire AFC Wimbledon player for the rest of the season. So I Bought My Team a Pro Football Player 00:01:56
2025-04-22 looked back John says new central attacking midfielder Marcus Browne, signed with money from John's FIFA stream, makes the team look dangerous. The Unimportant Things 00:03:23
2025-05-20 looked back John thanks everyone in his FIFA livestreams on John's Channel: without them AFC Wimbledon could not have signed Marcus Browne. The Double 00:04:22
2026-03-17 looked back John says his livestreams on John's Channel have raised money for AFC Wimbledon's playing fund for a couple of years, helping pay for three players, including current top scorer Marcus Browne. Tuberculosis and Hank's Shingles 00:02:55

Dates are upload dates, which set the order. Where the speaker gives a different recording date in the video, it is added as "said on YYYY-MM-DD, implied" (derived from the date said in the video).

What is said about it

38 statements, by date (the events above are the turns of the thread; these are the details).

  • 2013-11-05 · Our Strangest Project Yet? — announcement: The description says the pitch-side ads are 16 feet long and 3 feet high, and tells ad designers to design accordingly. — video description
  • 2013-11-05 · Our Strangest Project Yet? — recommendation: John: To learn more about the club, John points to a short documentary on the collapse of Wimbledon F.C., its disastrous move to Milton Keynes and the formation of AFC Wimbledon. — video description
  • 2013-11-05 · Our Strangest Project Yet? — John calls AFC Wimbledon a truly extraordinary club, the most awesome football club in the world, and says he wants to help it stay in the Football League. — 00:02:42
  • 2013-11-05 · Our Strangest Project Yet? — announcement: John will play as AFC Wimbledon in FIFA 14 but keep his vow not to be a professional FIFA player: all ad revenue from the videos will sponsor the real club. — 00:02:44
  • 2013-11-05 · Our Strangest Project Yet? — announcement: John: The sponsorship will buy billboards in the stadium and ads in the match program, all designed by Nerdfighters. — 00:02:57
  • 2013-11-05 · Our Strangest Project Yet? — John hopes the sponsorship helps keep the club in the Football League so he can play them in FIFA 15, 16 and beyond, and maybe one day send them to the Premier League. (hedged) — 00:03:02
  • 2013-11-08 · VidCon, Punishments, Comments, and Pumpkins — Hank tells John he thinks Nerdfighteria sponsoring a professional football team is an amazing idea that just feels pretty cool. (hedged) — 00:01:46
  • 2014-01-07 · Warm Things for Cold Times — announcement: John says AFC Wimbledon play Torquay in League Two this Saturday (11 January 2014), and Nerdfighter messages will be on the side of the field and in the program. — 00:01:44
  • 2014-01-14 · Giving Away Over $700,000 — Rosianna Halse Rojas: Rosianna, an internet kid who loves GIFs, Instagram and YouTube, finds something cool in the physical boards at the pitch designed by Nerdfighters living far away. — 00:00:30
  • 2014-01-14 · Giving Away Over $700,000 — John: Wimbledon lost the game, but, invoking the long arc of history bending toward justice, the speaker says they will be fine. (playful) — 00:00:46
  • 2014-05-27 · ALL THE SHIRTS (and some paths to community) — announcement: John: The film of John's book comes out in ten days, yet he spends most free time worrying about FIFA 14 players made of ones and zeros, as, he notes, is the movie. (playful) — 00:01:41
  • 2014-06-17 · Old. — John says all the money from his FIFA videos now goes to AFC Wimbledon, a real football club. — 00:00:42
  • 2014-07-08 · The Future of Nerdfighteria — announcement: John tells Hank that playing as AFC Wimbledon in FIFA 15 he will see the design on their computer shorts: Nerdfighters made it to FIFA. (playful) — 00:03:17
  • 2014-09-19 · The Oculus Rift is Freakin Me Out — Hank praises John Plays FIFA: fictional players both named John Green raise a child while raising real money for the real team, so Nerdfighteria's logos are now on its uniforms. — 00:00:11
  • 2014-10-14 · A Minor Crisis — John says HankGames ad revenue sponsors the real AFC Wimbledon, a fourth-tier club formed by fans after their club was moved to Milton Keynes, and this year (2014) the sponsorship is on the team's shorts. — 00:01:58
  • 2015-01-04 · The Best Worst Thing — John says that for the past couple of years Nerdfighteria has been sponsoring AFC Wimbledon, an actual professional soccer team in England. — 00:00:02
  • 2015-01-04 · The Best Worst Thing — John says the brothers pay for the sponsorship by sending AFC Wimbledon all the advertising revenue from their channel HankGames. — 00:00:27
  • 2015-01-04 · The Best Worst Thing — announcement: John says this year (2015) the sponsorship grew enough that Nerdfighteria is on the shorts of the AFC Wimbledon uniform. — 00:00:35
  • 2015-01-04 · The Best Worst Thing — announcement: John says the AFC Wimbledon scarves with DFTBA on them are back in stock at dftba.com, with all royalties going to the club. — 00:00:45
  • 2015-01-04 · The Best Worst Thing — announcement: John says the game is on American television at 3 PM Eastern on Fox Sports 1, where viewers can see the Nerdfighter advertisements by the field. — 00:02:10
  • 2015-01-04 · The Best Worst Thing — John thanks everyone who watches the AFC Wimbledon Wimbly Womblys on HankGames for making the sponsorship possible. — 00:03:24
  • 2015-01-06 (said on 2015-01-05, implied) · AFC Wimbledon v. Liverpool: Thoughts from the Greatest Game on Earth — In the description John says hundreds of people at AFC Wimbledon told him how much the Nerdfighter community's support means to them, and thanks Rosianna for spearheading the sponsorship. — video description
  • 2015-01-06 (said on 2015-01-05, implied) · AFC Wimbledon v. Liverpool: Thoughts from the Greatest Game on Earth — John points out a Liverpool player taking a corner in front of the word Nerdfighter. — 00:02:17
  • 2015-01-06 (said on 2015-01-05, implied) · AFC Wimbledon v. Liverpool: Thoughts from the Greatest Game on Earth — John thanks everyone at Wimbledon for hosting them, and everyone who watched the game and sent pictures of the DFTBAs and Nerdfighterias all over the pitch. — 00:02:54
  • 2015-03-31 · Hank's Haircut and Related Existential Crises — John says Hank's new hairstyle upset him because it resembles the haircut of Kennedy, left-back of his fictional FIFA 14 team, whose hair he has mocked for years. (playful) — 00:01:05
  • 2015-03-31 · Hank's Haircut and Related Existential Crises — John says there are two AFC Wimbledons in his life; his fictional FIFA team, the Wimbly Womblys, has risen from League Two to its first Premier League season. — 00:02:08
  • 2015-03-31 · Hank's Haircut and Related Existential Crises — John says the ad revenue from the FIFA series is used to sponsor the real AFC Wimbledon. — 00:02:34
  • 2015-05-26 · Sixteen Parts — John: Nerdfighteria-sponsored AFC Wimbledon will stay in League Two after finishing the season 15th, so they remain a full-time professional team, playable in the next FIFA game. — 00:01:24
  • 2015-08-18 · The Cold War of Nerdfighteria — John shows off the John Green Stand at AFC Wimbledon's stadium. — 00:01:19
  • 2015-11-03 · Monkey Hangers — John says Nerdfighteria and he sponsor fourth-tier, fan-owned AFC Wimbledon as its back-of-shorts sponsor. — 00:00:13
  • 2016-05-03 · No Fumar — John says he did not shave for six consecutive weeks because AFC Wimbledon, the fourth-tier English team sponsored by Nerdfighteria, kept winning. (playful) — 00:02:13 · also in: The Most Amazing Day
  • 2016-05-24 · Easier Than IKEA: A Video in Two Parts — John says AFC Wimbledon, the fourth-tier English team Nerdfighteria sponsors, has reached the play-off final, one victory from becoming a third-tier team. — 00:02:35
  • 2019-01-29 · Do You Believe in Miracles? — John: The urge to find and share hope is why John writes books, makes videos, gardens and sponsors AFC Wimbledon, the third-tier English team wearing DFTBA on their shorts. — 00:01:55
  • 2019-12-17 · The Best Days of My Decade — John: Next favorite day: May 30, 2016, when AFC Wimbledon, with DFTBA on their shorts, played a play-off final at Wembley for promotion to the third tier. — 00:01:07
  • 2020-09-08 · That's the way. — John suggests that might be why he is so enthralled with AFC Wimbledon, the third-tier English football team 'we' sponsor. (hedged) — 00:01:27
  • 2023-10-05 · America's Second Favorite Fourth Tier English Soccer Team — John says the argument of ten years of sponsoring Wimbledon, and of its fan reformation, is that community-held assets and communal action can work: not easily or always, but they can. — 00:03:45
  • 2025-01-14 · So I Bought My Team a Pro Football Player — John says he is in a deep, loving relationship with fourth-tier AFC Wimbledon and, for the last 12 years, has held the back-of-shorts sponsorship on the club's kit. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • 2025-01-14 · So I Bought My Team a Pro Football Player — John explains the streams' idea: he and Stan put all Super Chat and membership money toward AFC Wimbledon's playing fund. — 00:01:27