Wrexham is halfway to the Premier League under Ryan Reynolds. Expect things to get much tougher now
Hot off a successful preseason tour to the west coast of the United States, the Welsh club co-owned by actor Ryan Reynolds begins its domestic season on Saturday with a home match against Wycombe Wanderers in the third tier of English soccer.
Wrexham hasn’t played at this level for 19 years, a sign of the progress made by the team since it was bought by Reynolds and another actor, Rob McElhenney, for $2.5 million in 2021.
Another sign is the success of “Welcome to Wrexham” — the Emmy Award-winning, fly-on-the-wall documentary chronicling the Hollywood stars’ first foray into soccer ownership that is into a third season, with the promise of a fourth.
Another is the sight of up to 35,000 spectators flocking to watch Wrexham’s exhibition matches on its North American tour, which started in California with draws against Premier League teams Chelsea (2-2) and Bournemouth (1-1) and ended in Reynolds’ home town of Vancouver. Wrexham beat Vancouver Whitecaps 4-1, with Reynolds in attendance soon after a whirlwind press tour for the movie “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
It was telling that, in announcing its four-year deal to show matches from the English Football League (the three divisions below the Premier League), American broadcaster CBS Sports prioritized the attraction of Wrexham.
“How to watch Wrexham, Burnley, Leeds and Americans,” CBS stated in its statement.
Indeed, eyes from around the world are now on the team known as the Dragons, especially after back-to-back promotions from the National League to League One, which features eight clubs to have previously played in the Premier League — Barnsley, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bolton, Charlton, Huddersfield, Reading and Wigan.
Leave a Reply