The South London derby is the name given to a football derby contested by any two of AFC Wimbledon, Bromley, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace and Millwall – the five English professional Football Association clubs that play in the Football League in South London. A sixth club, Sutton United, is also located in South London but currently do not compete in the Football League. The close geographical proximity of all the teams contributes significantly to the rivalries.
Charlton and Millwall are located in south-east London, with Millwall's The Den in New Cross and Charlton's The Valley in Greenwich being less than four miles apart. Crystal Palace are based further south in the suburb of Selhurst, their stadium Selhurst Park being six miles from The Den and eight from The Valley. AFC Wimbledon are located at Plough Lane in Merton, south-west London, which is five miles west of Selhurst Park, eight from The Den and ten from The Valley. Bromley's Hayes Lane in Bromley is over nine miles east from Plough Lane, four and half miles east of Selhurst Park and seven miles south of The Den and The Valley.
According to a 2013 fan survey on football rivalries, Charlton considers their main rival to be Crystal Palace, with Millwall second. Millwall's main rivalry is with East London club West Ham United, with Palace placed second and Charlton third. Crystal Palace fans consider their main rival to be Brighton, with Millwall second and Charlton third. AFC Wimbledon's main rivalry is with Milton Keynes Dons, with their fans considering Crawley Town their second-biggest rival.
Palace was first founded in 1861 but folded in 1876, Millwall was founded in 1885, twenty-years later Charlton was founded in 1905, with Palace being refounded the same year. The earliest fixture between two of the teams was in 1906 when Crystal Palace and Millwall first met in the Southern League. The two teams have contested the most games, over 130 derbies. Palace and Millwall both entered the Football League in the 1920–21 season. Charlton joined the next year in the 1921–22 season, playing in the same division as Palace and Millwall for the first time. Wimbledon were founded in 1889 and spent the majority of their history as an amateur club, until joining the Football League in the 1977–78 season. In 2003 Wimbledon were relocated to Milton Keynes as part of a franchise takeover and reformed it into a new club called Milton Keynes Dons. During this period of decline, the club was refounded as a phoenix club in 2002, created by supporters against the move, renaming itself AFC Wimbledon, as it won a rapid succession of non-League promotions to gain Football League status nine years later. AFC Wimbledon played their first derby in 2009, an FA Cup game against Millwall.
Sutton United were founded in 1898 but only played their first competitive derby in 2017, an FA Cup game against AFC Wimbledon. Sutton gained promotion into the English Football League for the first time in the 2020–21 season. They competed in League Two for three seasons, playing seven derbies against Wimbledon and Charlton, before being relegated back to the National League in 2024. Bromley were founded in 1892 and played their entire history in non-league, until winning promotion from the National League in the Play-off Final in 2024.
Millwall hold a winning record over Charlton, Palace, and Wimbledon. Wimbledon and Crystal Palace both have winning records against Charlton but have yet to play a game against each other. Charlton hold a losing record against all three. Bromley won their first South London derby in the Football League against Wimbledon, and have lost two cup games against Wimbledon and Charlton. As of the 2026–27 season, Crystal Palace play in the Premier League, Millwall and Charlton play in the Championship, and Bromley and AFC Wimbledon play in League One.
History
Early rivalries
Millwall were founded in 1885, some 20 years before Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace, who were both founded in 1905. Soon after Crystal Palace were formed, they joined the Southern Football League, of which Millwall were founding members. The two teams played against each other for ten seasons in this league. The first contested competitive game between the sides was played on 17 November 1906, with Palace winning 3–0 although the fixture was not yet a South London derby – Millwall were based in East London until 1910. Up until that point the most successful team based in South London was Woolwich Arsenal, who were the first Southern member elected to the Football League in 1893.
Charlton Athletic's early years were somewhat hindered by the presence of Woolwich Arsenal, who were the closest team in locality and were well supported. Charlton spent the first years of their history playing in non-professional leagues and did not play either Palace or Millwall. Eventually, Woolwich Arsenal moved to North London, losing the 'Woolwich' from their name, in 1913. The same year Charlton adopted senior status. They became a professional team in 1920, joining the Southern League. Both Millwall and Crystal Palace joined the Football League in the 1920–21 season, playing in the Third Division, while Charlton Athletic joined the year after for the 1921–22 season, finally competing at the same level as both their South London neighbours. Wimbledon became a Football League club five decades later in the 1977–78 season, playing their first South London derby against Millwall in 1980.
Four in the same league There have been two occasions where four of the current five South London teams have played in the same league together. In the 1985–86 season, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Millwall and Wimbledon all competed in the Second Division. Charlton finished 2nd and Wimbledon 3rd, both being automatically promoted. Palace finished 5th and Millwall 9th. The 1989–90 season signifies the only time all four teams competed in the First Division together, the top tier of English football. Wimbledon finished the season 8th, Palace 15th and Charlton and Millwall were relegated, finishing 19th and 20th respectively.
Ground sharing During World War II Millwall's ground The Den was severely damaged by a German bomb and a fire destroyed a stand a few days later. For a brief time the club was invited by their neighbours to play their games at The Valley and Selhurst Park. In 1984 Charlton went into administration. The club were forced to leave The Valley just after the start of the 1985–86 season after its safety was criticised by league officials. The club began a groundshare with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, which lasted for six years until 1991. After another year groundsharing at West Ham United's Upton Park, Charlton moved back into The Valley in 1992. Wimbledon groundshared at Selhurst Park from 1991 until their relocation to Milton Keynes in 2003. The campaign of Wimbledon's fans against the relocation led to the formation of AFC Wimbledon.
Notable matches Crystal Palace 3–0 Millwall Athletic (17 November 1906) The first meeting between any of the three original teams saw Palace, who were only formed a year prior, secure a comfortable victory over the visitors from East London. It was a Southern League match watched by 6,000 fans at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. Millwall 0–3 Crystal Palace (31 October 1910) This was the first game between the teams since Millwall moved to South London (in 1910), making this the first true South London derby. 3,000 supporters watched a Palace victory at The Den in a London PFA Charity Fund game. The match against their new neighbours was Millwall's second game at their new ground. Millwall 0–1 Crystal Palace (15 January 1921) First derby contested in The Football League. Palace won the Third Division game with a second half goal in front of 20,000 fans. Palace also won the reverse fixture 3–2 which was held only a week later on 22 January 1921, to complete the first South London Football League double and continue their early dominance of Millwall. Millwall 2–0 Charlton Athletic (10 October 1921) This London PFA Charity Fund fixture was the first contest between the two teams, which Millwall won 2–0 in front of 10,000 supporters at The Den. Millwall 0–1 Charlton Athletic (31 December 1921) On New Year's Eve of 1921 the teams met for their first League match, which Charlton won 1–0 at The Den. This was Charlton's first season as a Football League club and they completed a rare double over Millwall, winning the return fixture at The Valley 2–1. Charlton Athletic 1–1 Crystal Palace (14 November 1925) The first competitive game played between the teams took place in the Third Division (south), and ended with a 1–1 draw at The Valley. Millwall 6–0 Charlton Athletic (3 January 1931) This Second Division game between the sides remains the widest winning margin between any of the clubs. Millwall led 1–0 at half-time and scored five more times in the second half, with goals from Harold Wadsworth (2), Joe Readman (2), Andrew Swallow and Jack Landells. Millwall 2–2 Wimbledon (5 April 1980) Wimbledon's first South London Derby was away at Millwall in the Third Division. The game ended in a draw in front of a crowd of 5,364. This was the Wombles third season as a Football League club, they finished bottom of the table and were relegated. Wimbledon 0–3 Crystal Palace (4 May 1991) The last South London derby and last ever game at Plough Lane. Wimbledon were forced to move at the end of the season due to a new FA rule requiring all-seater stadiums. They started ground-sharing with Palace at Selhurst Park the following season. Palace won the game with a hat-trick by Ian Wright in the second half. Palace finished 3rd and Wimbledon 7th in the 1990–91 First Division. Charlton Athletic 1–3 Crystal Palace (aggregate score, 12 & 15 May 1996) Crystal Palace and Charlton met in the 1996 First Division play-off semi-final, after they finished third and sixth in the league respectively. Palace won the first leg at The Valley 2–1, and 1–0 in the second leg three days later. Palace went on to lose the play-off final to Leicester City 1–2 at Wembley. Wimbledon 0–1 Millwall (24 March 2004) A crowd of just 3,043 at the National Hockey Stadium in Milton Keynes saw Wimbledon's last game against South London opponents before they were renamed as MK Dons. A goal in the first half from Tim Cahill was enough to seal a win for Millwall against a Wimbledon side that finished bottom of the First Division and were relegated. Charlton Athletic 2–2 Crystal Palace (15 May 2005) Palace led 2–1 with seven minutes left to play, before Charlton defender Jonathan Fortune scored an equaliser in the final game of the season, relegating Palace from the Premier League. Had Palace held on to win, they would have finished above West Brom and avoided relegation, but instead became the first club to be relegated from the top-flight of English football four times. The 2004–05 season was the only time Charlton and Palace played in the Premier League together. Millwall 4–1 AFC Wimbledon (9 November 2009) AFC Wimbledon's first competitive South London derby was a match against Millwall at The Den in the first round of the FA Cup. Kenny Jackett's League One side won 4–1 against the Conference National side. Charlton Athletic 4–4 Millwall (19 December 2009) The first meeting of the sides since the last meeting back on 9 March 1996 ended in the highest-scoring game between the teams. Millwall went 2–0 up through two Steve Morison goals but Charlton converted two penalties through Deon Burton. Millwall's Jimmy Abdou was sent off early in the second half and The Lions went twice behind to the home team but Danny Schofield scored a last-minute equaliser. Both teams wore special kits for the match in honour of murdered local teenagers and supporters Jimmy Mizen and Rob Knox. The logos of both clubs' shirt sponsors were replaced by the text, "Street violence ruins lives".