Wrexham, Ryan Reynolds' club, ascended: the emotion of the actor and the party of a town that dreams of more glory

​Happy end to the season for

, the Welsh club owned by actor

along with another well-known figure in the US art scene,

.

They acquired it for 2.5 million dollars in November 2020 and in their second full year at the helm of the institution they became champions of the National League, the fifth category of British soccer.

Reynolds and McElhenney celebrated

from their box at the Racecourse Ground, a stadium built in 1807, which was once again full to the joy of a small town that once again enjoys the glory of other times.

At the end of the game there was an invasion of the field and a party that will last until after midnight.

The actors bought the club in November 2020 in exchange for 2.5 million dollars and after convincing the Wrexham partners with their project.

They took over in February 2021 and only in their second full season were they able to achieve their first goal, be champions and promote: now they will seek to repeat next year.

When the promotion was completed, the actors hugged and let off steam for a few minutes, screaming with the Welsh fans but also letting a few tears fall.

There was a lot of pressure they had: their idea could end in a resounding failure not only for their economy but for the life of a town that survives thanks to soccer

.

All this adventure is told in

, the docuseries that can be seen through the Star+ streaming service, whose first season had 18 episodes and the second still does not have a release date but does have a huge spoiler for the end: the team was champion.

The story of Wrexham and Ryan Reynolds

Advised by the former English soccer player

saga films

, and the American McElhenney, creator of the sitcom

, began the process of buying the club in November 2020 , they paid 2 million pounds (2.5 million dollars) and took the helm in February 2021.

More than 15 decades of history preceded the arrival of the actors

.

In a city located in northeast Wales, 40 kilometers south of Liverpool, and whose productive engines were the brewing, tanning and coal industries, the institution was founded in October 1864 by a group of members of the Wrexham Cricket Club.

That very distant genesis keeps it as the third oldest professional club on the planet, only surpassed by Notts County (1862) and Stoke City (1863).

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have owned Wrexham AFC since February 2021. Photo: Twitter @RMcElhenney.

The foundation came just a year after the Football Association (FA) was created and the first rules of the game were drawn up, and 12 years before the birth of the Football Association of Wales (FAW).

Its stadium, the Racecourse Ground (with a capacity for 10,500 spectators), is also part of the history books.

Built in 1807 and initially used for cricket matches and horse racing, it was the venue for the first match that the Welsh national team played in its territory: on March 5, 1877, it fell 2-0 against Scotland in a friendly duel.

That makes it the oldest stadium on the planet among those that have hosted at least one international team match.

While Wrexham's history is long, it is not one of success

.

His most outstanding period was during the 1970s and the early 1980s. In the 1977/78 season he was champion of the third division, which allowed him to be promoted to the second division for the only time, where he remained for four years .

In addition, they reached the quarterfinals of the FA Cup in 1974 and 1978, and the same instance of the European Cup Winners' Cup (which they entered as Welsh Cup winners) in the 1975/76 campaign.

The party at Wrexham after the promotion.

Photo: Oli SCARFF / AFP.

Simultaneously with

, the club began to travel a slope that took it to the fifth division of English football and a deep economic crisis that put it at the forefront of verge of bankruptcy.

Faced with the defection of private investors, a group of fans in September 2011 raised the 100,000 pounds necessary to prevent its disappearance and took control of the institution.

Wrexham AFC is the third oldest professional club on the planet.

Photo: Wrexham AFC Press.

It was the members of the club who

overwhelmingly

, the actors proposed in a statement published hours after the operation was finalized.

The first steps were not very fruitful in financial terms: in March 2022, after a year of the new management, the club announced that it had registered losses of almost 3 million pounds.

Despite the fact that turnover grew in that period (from 1.5 million to 5.9 million), the loss was mainly driven by the increase in investment in professional soccer (from 1.3 million to 4 million).

Phil Parkinson has been the manager of Wrexham AFC since July 2021. Photo: Wrexham AFC Press.

This greater investment had a correlate in the team's performance.

In the 2020/21 season, during which Reynolds and McElhenney took over the institution, the

finished eighth in the National League, the fifth category of English football, in which professional teams, such as Wrexham, coexist with other semi-professionals. , as

.

In the following campaign, they finished second, behind

, and lost in the playoff semi-finals for second promotion.

This season, before playing date 45 that gave them promotion, the team led by

(he led Hull City, Charlton and Bolton in the Championship) had a devastating run: they won 33 of the 44 games they played (they drew 8 and lost only 3), added 107 points and led his escort, Notts County, by 4.

With the victory against Boreham Wood, they became champions, they will return to League Two after 15 years and

: the others are Cardiff City, Swansea City (both in the Championship) and Newport County (in League Two).

The Wrexham AFC women's team won promotion to the top division of Welsh football on Sunday.

Photo: Wrexham AFC Press.

To complete a very positive year, Wrexham had a great FA Cup, advancing to the fourth round: they beat Oldham Athletic, Farnborough and Coventry City, and were eliminated by Sheffield United (they are one step away from promotion to the Premier League) after drawing 3-3 in the first game and falling 3-1 in the

.

And his women's team got promotion to the top flight of Welsh football last Sunday.

The

made it back to League Two, but their ambitions don't end there.

“The plan is, and always has been, the

.

I can't really put a date on it.

But if it's theoretically possible to go from the fifth division to the Premier League, why don't we go for it?” Ryan Reynolds enthused in January.

This Saturday he climbed the first of the four steps that would take his club to the top of English football.

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