The vast majority of Wrexham AFC’s century and a half as a soccer team in North Wales has been easily forgettable. The club has never played in the top tier of English soccer, nor has it ever won a major trophy.
That history took a dramatic and unexpected turn in 2021. Though Wrexham still had no major trophies, it gained a pair of co-owners who happened to be Hollywood actors determined to rewrite the fifth-tier club’s fortunes in two huge ways. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney hoped that they could turn it into a winner. But they were certain they could turn Wrexham into a TV star.
As it happened, both goals are coming true. Two years after the actors bought the club for some $2.5 million and put it at the center of a popular documentary series, “Welcome to Wrexham,” the club on Saturday sealed promotion to the fourth tier of English soccer with a 3-1 victory over Boreham Wood. The result prompted delirious celebrations on the field, led by Reynolds and McElhenney chanting the name of a club they’d never heard of a decade ago.
“Everything I own smells like Champagne, beer and grass. I’m still somewhere between giggling and sobbing,” Reynolds said. “This town and this sport is one of the most romantic things on Earth. Thank you, Wrexham AFC.”
Americans had been piling into English soccer for years. More than a third of all Premier League clubs—including Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Chelsea—are owned by U.S. billionaires. And a few more adventurous Americans have tried their luck with clubs in the second tier, hoping to earn promotion and the financial windfall that comes with it.
But no one had attempted anything like the Wrexham project. After buying in with the full backing of a vote by the fans, the new owners sought to reassure them that they were in it for the long haul. For one, McElhenney and Reynolds promised not to commit what European supporters see as the cardinal sin of American sports: moving the team. So they entered into a 25-year agreement to finance Wrexham’s lease at its home stadium, the Racecourse Ground.
That was just the start. The new owners’ presence, along with TV cameras, was enough to generate an unprecedented rise in interest for a fifth-tier club. Wrexham soon signed sponsorship deals with TikTok and with the travel booking website Expedia. This season, its FA Cup qualifying matches were featured on ESPN in the U.S. And on social media, the club’s presence skyrocketed. It now counts 721,000 Instagram followers, more than 10 times as many as its nearest National League rival, Notts County.
“Well I think we can hear what it means to the town,” McElhenney said inside Wrexham’s 11,000-capacity stadium. “It’s a time of celebration and to be welcomed into their community and be welcomed to this, it is the honor of my life.”
Even Prince William—technically the Prince of Wales—couldn’t help but take notice.
“Congratulations Wrexham AFC!” he tweeted on Saturday. “A club with such amazing history, looking forward to a very exciting future back in the Football League. Doing Wales proud.”
Wrexham’s road to high-level soccer relevance is still long. The club would need three more promotions—and likely several hundred million dollars—to reach the top tier of English soccer, the Premier League. For now, though, a single promotion is enough for a unique Hollywood-North Wales crossover story. Not only will Wrexham play in League Two for the first time since 2008, the TV show has also been renewed for a second season.
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