Football club owned by Hollywood A-listers headed to Sydney
They are the British soccer club made famous by a fly-on-the-wall documentary series underwritten by two Hollywood stars. Now Wrexham, promoted three years in a row, are heading Down Under to play Sydney FC.
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The Welsh football team owned by Hollywood A-listers that lived out a sporting fairytale in a fly-on-the-wall documentary series is heading to Sydney in July.
Wrexham, a battling underdog of British soccer when bought for $4 million by Canadian movie star Ryan Reynolds and fellow actor Rob McElhenney, has staged a miraculous rags-to-riches march in just three seasons to capture the hearts of a massive global TV audience.
Now the team valued at more than $200m and made famous by the Disney production “Welcome to Wrexham” is making a trek Down Under before it opens the next northern season in the Championship – just one step below the English Premier League.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal the Welsh wonder side, which was in the fifth tier of the English competition when the Hollywood heavyweights came knocking, will play Sydney FC in one of two games to be staged on Australian soil.
A third match is understood to be earmarked for New Zealand.
The clash with Sydney FC has yet to have a venue locked in with Allianz Stadium and Accor Stadium both under consideration. This masthead understands Destination NSW is providing support to bring the Wrexham tour to Sydney.
Sources close to discussions but speaking on condition of anonymity have also hinted that negotiations are underway for Reynolds and McElhenney to headline the entourage if their film and television schedules allow.
The pair were in Wales on the weekend, along with Reynolds’ wife Blake Liveley, when Wrexham secured promotion again, this time from League One to the Championship.
A 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic ensured they became the first team in the storied history of British football to jump up the ranks in three successive seasons.
Best known for his role as the superhero character Deadpool, Reynolds told media after the game that the Wrexham tale “seemed like an impossible dream”.
“We were standing there doing a press conference four years ago, and said our goal is to make it to the Premier League,” he said. “There was understandably a lot of titters and laughter and giggles, but it starts to feel like a real, tangible thing that could actually come to fruition.”
The Welcome to Wrexham documentary has been a smash hit since it first streamed around the world following the 2021-22 season. Reynolds and McElhenney completed their purchase of the world’s third-oldest professional soccer club just months earlier, in November 2020.
The club’s popularity has skyrocketed on the back of the film stars’ profile, their hands-on approach to running the organisation, and the documentary cameras recording the extraordinary rise of the one-time battlers.
The off-field results have been equally stunning. Wrexham’s international awareness and soaring fan base, particularly in the United States, allowed the club to announce unprecedented revenues of $55m for the financial year ending 30 June 2024.
Promotion to the Championship will see a further $15m to $20m poured into the Wrexham coffers, with the club’s share of British football’s broadcasting rights increasing as it continues to move into the upper echelons of the game.
Around half of the Wrexham revenues, including sponsorships with the likes of TikTok and Expedia and a large chunk of merchandise sales, are generated outside Europe.
The club is also expanding its overseas membership program – signing offshore supporters to “International Red Dragon” packages for $105 – while plans are in place to increase the club’s Racecourse Ground capacity from 15,000 to 20,000.
Originally published as Football club owned by Hollywood A-listers headed to Sydney
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