It is literally a Hollywood ending.
Wrexham AFC – the Welsh football club (“soccer” club to most Americans) owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – clinched the National League title in Europe Saturday evening and gains promotion to a higher tier league next season. It is a huge win to cap off a record-setting season for the club, who has been relegated to the National League for fifteen years.
For McElhenney and Reynolds, it has been a journey which started in late 2020 when they purchased the team. Through some key acquisitions including Paul Mullin (the team’s most high-profile player who scored two goals in the match) and coach Phil Parkinson (who had previously led other clubs to great success), Wrexham had steadily improved and it’s success has been captured in the documentary series Welcome To Wrexham of which the first season can been seen streaming on Hulu. The show has been a great educational tool for the European football-challenged by explaining how the sport actually works. This season the club set the all-time record for most points in a season among the top five tiers… teams get three points for a win, one point for a draw and lose no points for a loss. Wrexham currently sits at 110 points for the season with one match to go. Second place Notts County is close behind currently with 106 points but out of title contention.
With the victory over Boreham Wood (3 goals to 1), Wrexham can move from their current “fifth tier” league to the “fourth tier” next season. It is a perk of an unique competition structure in European football where teams move to higher-ranking leagues with their success… not unlike a junior varsity squad being able to compete against varsity level teams the following season. In most cases at that level, higher tier teams are able to benefit greatly financially than lower-tier clubs. Next year, Wrexham will play in EFL League Two with their promotion (EFL League One, EFL Championship and the legendary Premier League are tiers three, two and one, respectively).
There was a carnival-like atmosphere amidst the sell-out crowd at the Racecourse Grounds, including a sing-along to Reynolds’ recently-released birthday tribute to McElhenney (see above). The match itself was a tense affair from the start as Boreham Wood scored the first goal within the first minute of play. It would be their only goal however as Wrexham would score the next three and clinch the title as fans streamed onto the pitch. Wrexham plays their final match next Saturday (April 29th) against Torquay United FC, an inconsequential affair considering today’s outcome.
During the actors’ emotional rollercoaster journey with the club McElhenney had been heard to say at one point, “I hate this f**king game!” After today’s result, he most likely has a different opinion.
