The modest Wrexham made history in English football by achieving promotion to the Championship and becoming the first team to consecutively ascend three divisions, from the National League, the fifth tier, to the doorstep of the Premier League.
Wrexham secured their promotion this Saturday after defeating Charlton Athletic 3-0 and benefiting from Wycombe Wanderers’ defeat. Thanks to this, “The Red Dragons” secured second place in League One with one match remaining.
The millionaire investment made by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney
The “modest” rating of Wrexham is due to its footballing history and the northern Welsh city it represents, but not for its current status, where it has been a protagonist in the lower leagues of English football and enjoys worldwide fame thanks to the multimillion-dollar investment of American actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Both Hollywood figures took control of Wrexham AFC in 2020 and since then, they have secured millionaire sponsorships and made the “Red Dragons” famous worldwide thanks to the series “Welcome to Wrexham” (FX and Hulu in the United States, Disney Plus in Latin America). The fourth season of the series, which will narrate the recent promotion to the Championship, will begin airing in the coming weeks.
Reynolds and McElhenney have developed a strong bond with the team and also with the community, even though before 2020 they knew little about soccer and this town of 50,000 people. Now they split their time between Hollywood, their family life in the United States, and North Wales.
In fact, the series “Welcome to Wrexham” is much more than a sports story, as it reflects the importance of its football team to the community through different narratives.
Thanks to that, every time Wrexham plays at home, it receives hundreds of tourists who come to see the Stok Cae Ras stadium or the nearby bar.
The rapid rise of Wrexham
The beginning was not happy for Reynolds and McElhenney, as in the 2021-2022 season they lost the title, direct promotion, and promotion in the playoffs from the National League, the fifth tier of English football.
But since then, only sporting joys: in 2023 they were champions of the National League and moved up to League Two, last year they earned the right to play in League One and this 2025 they were promoted to the Championship.
The recent League One season was tough, as Birmingham City (where one of the investors is Tom Brady, the greatest player in NFL history) proved unbeatable in first place, and Wrexham had to battle until the end with Wycombe Wanderers for the second spot, who only faltered in the last two matches.
Additionally, players who have been iconic in recent seasons, such as Paul Mullin, have lost relevance to reinforcements like Oliver Rathbone and Sam Smith. One person who has been consistent is the coach Phil Parkinson, who took the team from the fifth division to the Championship.
“I remember the first press conference, they asked us what our goals were... and I think Rob intervened saying: ‘The Premier League.’ People laughed. They had every right to do so. It seemed crazy... But we weren’t joking. I feel at home here. It’s a place that values community and decency. We made history. We were promoted for the third consecutive time, a record,” wrote “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds on social media to celebrate the promotion.