Wrexham AFC has experienced a remarkable resurgence in recent years, capturing global popularity and attention following its takeover by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Once a club mired in decades of obscurity and lower-league struggles, Wrexham has transformed into one of the most compelling stories in modern football. Since the celebrity ownership began, the synergy between the owners, club management, and players has sparked an inspiring revival—elevating the team from the depths of fifth-tier football to the brink of top-flight competition.
Let’s take a closer look at Wrexham’s history and their journey, exploring how this historic club has risen through the ranks over the past five years.
Wrexham Association Football Club (A.F.C.) are the third oldest club in world football founded in 1864 and their stadium, the Racecourse Ground is the world’s oldest international sports ground. Based in a town called Wrexham in North Wales, the club had a long rich legacy steeped in history. Wrexham’s honours include winning the Welsh Cup a record 23 times, the Football League Trophy in 2005 and the FA Trophy in 2013 at Wembley. The club is also the record winner of the FAW Premier Cup, winning it five times out of 11, participating against fellow Welsh clubs such as Cardiff City, Swansea City and Newport County. In the 1970s, Wrexham played in League One but financial restrictions and poor management led to subsequent relegations as they landed in the fifth division.
The current owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were looking to invest in a football club back in 2020 when they came across a club in North Wales – Wrexham A.F.C and the club’s history instantly attracted them. The duo launched a bid for the takeover and upon promising new investments and building a new and improved training facility, the takeover was accepted by the Wrexham Supporters Trust who had owned the club since 2011. It was in February 2021 that the takeover was completed and hence began the process of promotion from fifth division to the EFL Championship.
The new owners not only brought funds but also global popularity, sponsors and A-list celebrities to Wrexham’s games. They also launched a documentary ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ to let the world know about the history of the club and the start of something exciting as they looked ahead into the future.
2022/23 Season:
After the takeover, the 2022/23 season began with the club bringing in about 10 players in the summer with the aim to strengthen their squad. The season started on a positive note as Wrexham won their opening game beating Eastleigh 2-1 and never looked back. Over the entire season, Wrexham kept alternating with Notts County at the top of the table and eventually ended up winning the National League with 111 points in 46 games with 34 wins, 9 draws and only 3 losses. Forward Paul Mullin was their best player, scoring 38 goals and bagging three assists in the league. As a result, Wrexham were promoted to EFL League two (fourth division) for the next season. It was an incredible achievement under new ownership.
2023/24 Season:
The last time Wrexham AFC competed in League Two was the 2007/08 season and they couldn’t stay up, getting relegated in the same season. However, history didn’t repeat itself in 2023/24 as Wrexham passed the League two challenge with flying colours. Ahead of the summer, Wrexham again made about 6-7 signings on permanent move or loans to strengthen their squad for competing in League Two.
Wrexham didn’t dominate League two winning 26 games, drawing 10 and losing 10 out of 46 games but they ended up in second place on 88 points, 4 points behind Stockport County. Another successful season leading to promotion to the third tier of English football i.e., EFL League One. Forward Paul Mullin was their best player yet again, top scoring with 24 goals and bagging eight assists in League Two. With this, Wrexham earned back-to-back promotions in two seasons.
2024/25 Season:
After exactly two decades, Wrexham earned promotion to the second tier of top-flight football, that is the EFL League One. League One is a very tough place to be as you have to fight with much bigger clubs who have also experienced the Championship or even the Premier League in recent years. In addition to the league, Wrexham also got an opportunity to participate in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and the EFL trophy.
Ahead of the 2024/25, Wrexham again made their move in the transfer market, making a host of signings to ensure they were ready to clear this hurdle as well. Wrexham ended the season in 2nd place (92 points) behind Birmingham City (111 points) with 27 wins, 11 draws and 8 losses. Ollie Rathbone was their star performer with eight goals and two assists. With this promotion, Wrexham earned the unique distinction of the first team to earn three back-to-back promotions in English football in the Top 5 divisions.
Wrexham marked their return to the Championship after a long hiatus of over four decades as they last played in the Championship in the 1982/83 season.
A lot of the praise for their success should also go to their coach Phil Parkinson. Under the new manager, Wrexham learned to play an innovative brand of football. Their style of play is built around having attacking overloads in the wider areas for using numerical advantages and switching play, also utilising the strengths of their forward players. In addition, they also look to exploit opposition defence by going behind the lines through quick transitions and direct play. In situations where they can’t break down the opposition defence, they attract the opposition forward and then try to intercept play leading to quick transitions and counter attacks.
This incredible success has been nothing short of a Hollywood movie script. A club entangled in financial mess and languishing in the fifth division gets help from unexpected quarters – two unknown and inexperienced American actors with limited football knowledge but a lot of heart and personality. They come in and turn around the club’s fortunes in unimaginable ways. From the owners, the manager, to the players everything has gone by the script so far. They have already demonstrated to the world that success in competitive sports doesn’t always depend on heavy investments, but can also be achieved through tactical intelligence, collective courage, and an unyielding team spirit.
Having said that, the Championship is a different kettle of fish. The second tier of English football isn’t going to be a cakewalk as Wrexham will have to compete with legacy clubs with huge fanbases and against far superior players in 40,000 capacity stadiums. Not just investments but also the ability to attract talented players and building a competitive squad will be pivotal if they want to fulfill their dream of top-flight football.
Although Wrexham A.F.C. and its American owners have achieved miraculous success over the past three seasons, it remains to be seen whether their story will conclude with a perfect happy ending or fall short of expectations.
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