Welcome to Melbourne: Wrexham AFC to take on Melbourne Victory at Marvel Stadium
Ryan Reynolds’ British soccer team Wrexham AFC will take on Melbourne Victory at Marvel Stadium as part of their three game tour of Australia and New Zealand this July.
Victoria
Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Fairytale British soccer team Wrexham AFC is set to bring its game — and a slice of Hollywood — to Melbourne.
The Welsh club owned by movie star Ryan Reynolds and US actor and screenwriter Rob McElhenney will take on Melbourne Victory at Marvel Stadium on July 12, in the opening match of a three game tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Hopes are high Deadpool star Reynolds will be in the stands at Docklands in a move befitting the superhero film’s franchise owning naming rights to Marvel Stadium.
The match — a day before St Kilda host Western Bulldogs in a round 14 AFL clash at Marvel Stadium — is expected to be close to a sellout.
In a statement, Wrexham AFC co-chairmen McElhenney and Reynolds said: “From the very beginning, we wanted to help make Wrexham a globally recognised team, town and brand.
“We could not be more excited to bring the Red Dragons to Australia and New Zealand and we are particularly proud that this announcement features neither a Men at Work or Hugh Jackman joke.
“The latter of which took maturity and tremendous restraint … We make no promises going forward.”
The club has become a cult hit thanks to Disney docu-series “Welcome to Wrexham” and its meteoric rise from a battling Welsh squad to a team that will next season play one tier below the English Premier League.
It has taken fans old and new on a wild ride thanks to an extraordinary three straight league promotions since the club’s famous owners bought it for $4m in 2021.
The club — founded in 1854 and the third oldest professional soccer team in the world — is now worth $200m.
Marvel Stadium general manager Scott Fitzgerald said Wrexham was “a global phenomenon’’.
“Events like this really allow us to showcase the epic entertainment that is the English Football League,’’ he said.
Australia was the third largest audience in the world for the Emmy award-winning Welcome to Wrexham series.
If that support translates to bums on seats at Marvel Stadium, promoter TEG Sport will be on to a winner with the 53,000 capacity venue dwarfing Wrexham’s current home ground which has room for just 13,341 fans.
The biggest crowd Wrexham has played before was 34,445 in a 1957 FA Cup tie with Manchester United.
Its average attendance for the 2024-25 season was 12,781.
The Victorian Government has not invested in the series, which has been bankrolled in part by the NSW Government.
Melbourne Victory managing director Caroline Carnegie said: “To play a team with such a rich history, in front of our passionate and loyal fans at Marvel Stadium, will be a fantastic experience for all football supporters.’’
General admission tickets will go on sale via Ticketek on May 16, priced at $39 for children and $59 for adults.
A pre-sales batch of seats will be sold at www.tegsport.com.au 24 hours earlier.
Wrexham will also play Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on July 15 and Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand on July 19.
More Coverage
Originally published as Welcome to Melbourne: Wrexham AFC to take on Melbourne Victory at Marvel Stadium
Former McClelland College teacher charged with child sexual offences
Orhan Sahin, who was a Year 7 to 10 science teacher at McClelland College before being suspended by the teaching regulator, will face court next month.
Allan govt under fire for rushing through major planning changes
The state government failed to carry out “genuine engagement” with experts, councils and communities as it ploughed ahead with its controversial planning overhaul, a new report has found.