Welsh club Wrexham AFC have completed back to back promotions after winning the National League and finishing second in the English Football League Two.
The team were purchased by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in 2021 and brought to popularity by the show Welcome to Wrexham. The club has taken its place on the pop culture scene and gained popularity across the United States and other countries.
Add in a recent deep FA Cup run that featured results against teams far above them in the English football tier, and the Wrexham craze continues to grow and spread.
The Sporting News brings you everything you need to know about Wrexham AFC as the club continues to gain popularity and push for results that piggyback on the sensation created by new owners “Wryan and Wrob” at the Racecourse Ground.
Wrexham city, ground, and club facts
Wrexham is a city in north-eastern Wales, sitting approximately half an hour from Chester which is situated just over the English border and about an hour’s drive north to Liverpool and Manchester.
The club, Wrexham AFC, is affectionately known as the “Red Dragons” and will play in League One during the 2024/25 campaign, which is the third tier of the English football setup. They are one of the oldest football clubs in the world, formed back in 1864. The club’s main colors are red and white.
Wrexham play at the STōK Cae Ras, also known as the Racecourse Ground in north-western Wrexham, which dates back to construction in 1807 and has a current capacity of just over 10,000 fans. The stadium is considered the world’s oldest football stadium to still host international matches.
The Racecourse has hosted the most Wales national team matches of any ground, first welcoming the Welsh national team in 1877 and most recently hosting in 2019 as the hosts beat Trinidad & Tobago on a late Ben Woodburn goal. The stadium’s crowd record is an impressive 34,445 who came to watch Wrexham play the famed “Busby Babes” of Manchester United in the 1957 FA Cup.
The current club badge debuted for the 1973/74 season and features two dragons on either side, which are the national symbol of Wales, while also boasting the same background colors (green and white) as the Welsh flag.
The crest displays the club motto “Ich Dien” which in German means “I serve” but many believe this actually originates from the Gaelic translation “Your Man” which is rumored to be a motto of the Welsh royalty in the 14th century.
Wrexham star players, leading scorer
The current Wrexham AFC squad is bursting with talent. The manager is Phil Parkinson, a 56-year-old who made over 360 appearances for Reading as a midfielder before retiring in 2003 to begin his coaching career. He’s previously managed at Colchester United, Hull City, Charlton Athletic, Bradford City, Bolton Wanderers, and most recently Sunderland before joining Wrexham.
The club’s current leading scorer is 29-year-old striker Paul Mullin, who joined in 2021/22 from Cambridge United and lit the National League on fire. He scored 25 goals in 42 league matches to help the side promoted to League One.
