Five fab facts about Wrexham and its famous footy club

It has been just over four years since Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney completed their takeover of Wrexham Football Club in North Wales.

At the time, the club were in the non-league Conference Premier or the fifth division of English football.

Now in 2025, they have now climbed up the footballing pyramid and will play in the EFL Championship next season - one step below the Premier League.

The impressive feat has been masterminded by a number of characters along the way - Ryan and Rob being two of them.

But let's find out a bit more about this amazing club and its story...

Are you a Wrexham fan? How did you feel when the team won another promotion on Sunday? Let us know using the comments section below.

1. Wrexham FC has SO much history...

The two big stars bought the club, and turned it's fortunes around

Years before Ryan Reynolds was making movies - well, before he was alive actually - Wrexham FC was born.

The club was founded in 1864, making it the oldest football club in Wales and some argue the third oldest club in the world.

The first players were actually cricketers, and they lost their opening game to 10 members of the Prince of Wales Fire Brigade (neither side featured the 11-a-side squads we see today).

Wrexham's first team had rather different warm-up techniques in 1930...

According to reports from the day, the fire crew won "comfortably" with a 2-1 victory.

The club's stadium also has its own claim to history - it is the world's oldest international stadium still in use.

The Wales national side played at The Racecourse (now called the Stok Cae Ras) in 1877, losing to Scotland.

(Read more about the upcoming changes to the stadium in a mo...)

2. A haunted city?

Spooky stories anyone?

As the city of Wrexham is thought to date back to the 8th century, there have been stories over the years of ghostly goings on...

According to Wrexham Council, there is one particular property on the city's high street where there have been several reports of very odd behaviour.

After an insurance company bought the building in 1986, the staff noticed "computer discs scattering themselves across a room, unexpected chills and sudden muggy warmth, filing cabinets suddenly opening and closing".

Spooky indeed...

3. The football club features on DisneyPlus

Have you spotted the Welcome to Wrexham film crews at a match?

Yes, alongside Moana and Lilo and Stitch, "Welcome to Wrexham" is a documentary series which takes fans behind the scenes the football club and how the Hollywood owners came to buy the club.

The series follows players and fans of the club, and how the club have secured back-to-back-to-back promotions over the last three seasons.

A fourth series is coming and will follow the club as they head for the Championship.

Will the cameras still be at the club if they make it all the way to the Premier League? We shall have to wait and see.

4. "In Phil we trust"

Phil Parkinson has led the club to three consecutive promotions - can he do it again next year?

After confirming their promotion on Sunday, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds told reporters that Wrexham's manager Phil Parkinson is a huge part of the club's success.

The head coach has now been the mastermind behind six promotions with four different clubs and made history by taking then League Two-side Bradford to the 2013 League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.

Phil Parkinson now must face a huge challenge of trying to reach the Premier League with Wrexham, and says the club will be competing in "one of the most competitive leagues in world football" in the EFL Championship.

5. A stadium upgrade

It may take a few years but The Racecourse will be fit for the Premier League if they need to be.

The Stok Cae Ras stadium will undergo a huge renovation over the next few years but when they begin their Championship season in August, the ground will have actually got smaller.

It will have fewer than 10,000 seats when the current temporary stand is removed. Changes to the ground are due to finish ready for the 2026-27 season.

Work has begun on the new pitch and training facilities too which will feature hybrid playing surfaces - a mixture of natural grass with synthetic fibers to make it more hardy - and will come complete with undersoil heating to make sure chilly weather doesn't affect match days.