South London derby

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 2025–26 season, Crystal Palace play in the Premier League, Millwall and Charlton play in the Championship, AFC Wimbledon play in League One, and Bromley play in League Two.