Welsh club Wrexham AFC completed back-to-back promotions after winning the National League and finishing second in the English Football League Two.
The team were purchased by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in 2021 and brought to popularity by the show Welcome to Wrexham. The club has taken its place on the pop culture scene and gained popularity across the United States and other countries.
Add in a recent deep FA Cup run that featured results against teams far above them in the English football tier, and the Wrexham craze continues to grow and spread.
The Sporting News brings you everything you need to know about Wrexham AFC as the club continues to gain popularity and push for results that piggyback on the sensation created by new owners “Wryan and Wrob” at the Racecourse Ground.
JUMP TO: Club facts | Star Players | Foundation | History & Titles | Owners | Welcome to Wrexham |
Wrexham city, ground, and club facts
Wrexham is a city in north-eastern Wales, sitting approximately half an hour from Chester which is situated just over the English border and about an hour’s drive north to Liverpool and Manchester.
The club, Wrexham AFC, is affectionately known as the “Red Dragons” and will play in League One during the 2024/25 campaign, which is the third tier of the English football setup. They are one of the oldest football clubs in the world, formed back in 1864. The club’s main colors are red and white.
Wrexham play at the STōK Cae Ras, also known as the Racecourse Ground in north-western Wrexham, which dates back to construction in 1807 and has a current capacity of just over 10,000 fans. The stadium is considered the world’s oldest football stadium to still host international matches.
The Racecourse has hosted the most Wales national team matches of any ground, first welcoming the Welsh national team in 1877 and most recently hosting in 2019 as the hosts beat Trinidad & Tobago on a late Ben Woodburn goal. The stadium’s crowd record is an impressive 34,445 who came to watch Wrexham play the famed “Busby Babes” of Manchester United in the 1957 FA Cup.
The current club badge debuted for the 1973/74 season and features two dragons on either side, which are the national symbol of Wales, while also boasting the same background colors (green and white) as the Welsh flag.
The crest displays the club motto “Ich Dien” which in German means “I serve” but many believe this actually originates from the Gaelic translation “Your Man” which is rumored to be a motto of the Welsh royalty in the 14th century.
MORE: Why Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchased Wrexham AFC
Wrexham star players, leading scorer
The current Wrexham AFC squad is bursting with talent. The manager is Phil Parkinson, a 56-year-old who made over 360 appearances for Reading as a midfielder before retiring in 2003 to begin his coaching career. He’s previously managed at Colchester United, Hull City, Charlton Athletic, Bradford City, Bolton Wanderers, and most recently Sunderland before joining Wrexham.
The club’s current leading scorer is 29-year-old striker Paul Mullin, who joined in 2021/22 from Cambridge United and lit the National League on fire. He scored 25 goals in 42 league matches to help the side promoted to League One.
How old is Wrexham? Club foundation
Wrexham AFC were originally thought to be founded in 1872, but in 2012 new documentation was discovered that placed the foundation of the club in 1864.
The club claims this to mean Wrexham are the third oldest continuous professional football club in the world. This is a claim that is promoted by the club itself in the bio of their official social media accounts, with just Notts County and Sheffield FC sitting above them.
However, this is disputed by a number of other clubs, including Stoke City. Other clubs with claims older than Wrexham are either poorly documented, no longer participate in a fully professional environment, or were founded as clubs playing other sports before adding football later.
Despite claims from other territories, Wrexham are generally accepted as the oldest football club in Wales.
Wrexham history, titles won
The club was founded in 1864 by Wrexham Cricket Club, as the organization wished to form a group to participate in winter sports while cricket was put on hold.
Wrexham participated in The Combination League, which featured early football clubs from England and Wales, winning four league championships. They moved to the Birmingham and District League before joining the Football League in 1921, entering in the newly formed Third Division North.
When the division merged to form the Third Division in 1958, it saw Wrexham soon relegated for the first time in club history in 1960, dropping to the 4th Division. They yo-yo’d back and forth between the 3rd and 4th tiers until they finished dead last, 92nd position, in the Football League in 1966.
Promotion back to the third division in 1970 saw them eventually climb up to the second tier of English football in 1978, reaching that level for the first and only time. Wrexham would spend just four seasons in that league, achieving the club’s highest-ever finish in the English football tier with a 15th-placed result in the 1978/79 season, before soon suffering consecutive relegations back down to the 4th tier.
Wrexham would achieve promotion again in 1993 back to Division Two, but at this point that league was now the 3rd tier of English football following the formation of the Premier League in 1992 as England’s top flight. They’d bounce between lower leagues until backroom problems and financial struggles culminated in a terrible 2008 season. Wrexham finished 24th in League Two — dead last in the Football League again — which resulted in the club’s relegation from the Football League completely.
The club remained in a non-League state since, winning the Football League Trophy (open to League One and League Two participants) in 2005 and the FA Trophy (the Football Association’s non-League Cup competition) in 2012/13, but falling short in the promotion playoffs twice, with the latest miss coming in the 2022 playoff semifinal.
They then finally achieved promotion to the Football League in 2022/23 as they won the National League. Parkinson’s side then reached League One as they finished second in League Two during the 2023/24 campaign.
Wrexham AFC titles won in club history
| Competition | Seasons won title | Seasons runners-Up |
| English Tier 3 (Third Div., Div. 2, League One) |
1977/78 | 1932/33 |
| English Tier 4 (Fourth Div., Div. 3, League Two) |
— | 1969/70, 1992/93 |
| The Combination | 1900/01, 1901/02, 1902/03, 1904/05 | 1899/1900 |
| Football League Trophy (EFL League One & League Two) |
2004/05 | — |
| FA Trophy (Non-League participants) |
2012/13 | 2014/15, 2021/22 |
| Welsh Cup | 23 times (last: 1994/95) | 22 times (last: 1990/91) |
Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney
Wrexham have gained significant popularity in the United States after the club was purchased by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in February of 2021.
Reynolds, of Deadpool fame, and McElhenney of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, purchased the club for around $2.5 million (£2 million), with the takeover reported as in progress in September of 2020 and finalized a few months later.
Reynolds told late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live in January of 2023 that his wife, fellow actress Blake Lively, was less than pleased when he first took charge of the club. When asked by McElhenney what Lively’s reaction to the news was, Reynolds replied: “Not good, Rob. Not great. We’re still working through that one.”
The two co-owners have been seen on numerous occasions at the club watching games with their family members and supporting the club.
Welcome to Wrexham on FX increases popularity in USA
The club first rose to the current level of popularity thanks to the FX show Welcome to Wrexham, which documented the club’s takeover by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, and the ensuing action on and off the field.
The first season consisted of 18 episodes with the finale airing on October 12, 2022, which incorporated their takeover of the side in September 2020 and the resulting 18 months as the club chased promotion to League Two (4th tier). They fell just short of promotion, defeated in a playoff semifinal against Grimsby Town by a wild 5-4 scoreline.
Just a week after the Season 1 finale aired, Wrexham owners Reynolds and McElhenney took to social media to confirm there was to be a second season of the hit show which was also a hit.
In May 2024, the series was renewed for a fourth season.
