WREXHAM, WALES –
Wrexham secured promotion to the fourth tier of English football on Saturday, achieving the first part of a dream for celebrity owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhaney.
The Hollywood actor was among a crowd of more than 10,000 at the Racecourse Ground in North Wales as Wrexham beat Boreham Wood 3-1 to win the National League title.
Reynolds and McElhenney have apparently become football fanatics since completing their $2.5 million purchase of the Welsh club in 2021.
Part of the takeover was the creation of a fly-on-the-wall documentary — titled “Welcome to Wrexham” — about a historic but hapless football team run by two actors. The journey is charted. Learning the ropes of sports club ownership.
The show’s second season will end on a happy note, with Wrexham returning to the English Football League — three divisions below the Premier League — for the first time in 15 years.
Wrexham are four points ahead of second-placed Notts County with a round of games remaining, so are guaranteed the only automatic promotion spot for League Two.
Among the spectators at the racecourse was Paul Rudd, another Hollywood actor who was seen drinking beer with the locals, and watched the game in the director’s box with Reynolds and McElhaney, who broke down in tears at the final whistle.
Reynolds is best known for starring in the “Deadpool” movies, while McElhaney is the creator of the TV show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” One of his goals when buying Wrexham from the club’s fans was to take the 158-year-old club — the world’s third-oldest professional club — into the Premier League and the journey is well underway.
It is Wrexham’s first league title at any level since the old Division Three — then the third tier of the English game — in 1977 and the team have done it in style, amassing a record 110 points so far and their 45 34 of them have won. the game.
And, as has often been the case with the club, the win was hard-earned after falling behind inside 44 seconds.
Wrexham scored in the 15th minute before the team’s star striker Paul Mullen struck twice in the second half to secure victory.
With the title in the bag, Wrexham fans enjoyed the last few minutes of a match that ended more than a decade of suffering. The club fell on such hard times since the turn of the century that the faith of its supporters twice saved the team from going out of business.
Since their unexpected takeover, Reynolds (21 million) and McElhaney (1 million) have used their large Twitter followings to promote the club and brought in sponsors such as TikTok, Aviation Gin and Expedia. Global brands that normally don’t have a place at this level. the game.
The actor is also fulfilling promises he made when he took over, such as improving the stadium and investing heavily in the women’s team. He brought in board members and advisers who have experience in high-level football and who have made good, sensible decisions.
The industrial city of around 65,000 people, close to the north-west English border and close to the football hotbeds of Liverpool and Manchester, has been buzzing with excitement for the past two years.
Last season, Wrexham lost out in the play-offs to miss out on promotion but made no mistake a year later to be relegated from Non-League, where some teams are semi-professional.
Wrexham finished the game with a background of fans singing “We are go up” in jubilation — joined by Reynolds and McElhenney.