Since 2007 the club has played its games at the 3,000-capacity Surrey FA stadium in Meadowbank, and Lea said many of their regular, match-going fans also support Premier League sides but have been drawn to the club by its unique story.
Awareness of Dorking and White’s adventure has also been boosted by the docuseries ‘Bunch of Amateurs’, which shines a light behind the scenes of non-league football clubs in the country.
“What Marc White and the club have achieved in a quarter of a century is up there with the AFC Wimbledon story,” BBC Radio Surrey sports editor Tim Durrans said.
“He says to this day that there has never been a plan, but the growth from a park team to a community club employing 40 people has taken huge drive and personality.
“Marc’s also admitted he couldn’t have done any of it without his colleagues and an army of volunteers that now stands at around 60.”
Football fans across the country have become used to White’s expletive-filled post-match interviews, and part of the aura that he has is people are never quite sure what he might say.
“One thing about Marc is he’ll never sit on the fence, but he does wear his heart on his sleeve, he’s not someone who will just say something for the sake of it,” Lea said.
“There’s a lot of people in football who, understandably, probably don’t speak out like Marc because they’re worried about the feedback or the implications.
“But the bottom line is you need characters like Marc White in football, who are willing to challenge things, and hopefully that can lead to nothing but positive changes.”
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