Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney marked yet another milestone in their Wrexham FC journey when the club beat Coventry City, a team three leagues ahead of them, in the FA Cup. This was the first time since the 1998-99 season that the club made it into the FA Cup 4th round.
Wrexham stunned Coventry 4-3 in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday. At one point they were leading 1-4 against a considerably stronger team to them but then had to endure a nervy last few minutes after Coventry managed to score twice despite a red card.
The very best ❤️
🔴⚪️ #WxmAFC | 🎥 @amycdavies pic.twitter.com/mTWDOuCJls
— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) January 7, 2023
The Wrexham story was one that was thought to be dead and buried until the Hollywood duo turned up in November 2020 to purchase the club. Wrexham, the third-oldest professional football club in England had seen a steady decline in their fortunes which saw them reach the National League – the fifth division of English football consisting of a bevy of semi-professional football clubs. Wrexham, once great architects of the FA Cup success story, beat then Premier League champions Arsenal in 1992 in the third round of the tournament.
After the ownership changed officially in 2021, Wrexham are currently in the second spot in the National League – the best team of the league gains automatic promotion to the English Football League Two, while another team gains promotion through the playoff system.
This team, our fans 🤩
🔴⚪️ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/hmScKGgQRE
— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) January 7, 2023
“I’m completely and totally speechless. What a club. What a town. What a win. @Wrexham_AFC forever”, tweeted Ryan Reynolds after the win. 4000 away supporters followed the club to support them against Coventry.
A @Wrexham_AFC hero celebrates an incredible win ♥️#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/U2WF4MmXuK
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 7, 2023
The club was bought for a grand total of £2 million and the eventual goal of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney is to use their fame and stardom to market the club digitally as it grows through the ranks of English football. They intend to do so with a documentary released on Disney+ called ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.
I’m completely and totally speechless. What a club. What a town. What a win. @Wrexham_AFC forever. https://t.co/9SzQUAVAX2
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) January 7, 2023
After the release of the documentary, Wrexham’s organic traffic on their website increased by 121% in the year of 2021 and they received a 198% increase in demographic from North America between 2021 and 2022. The series intended to create a market that still remains largely untapped for football and can have the same effect on the sport as ‘Drive to Survive’ has had for F1.
A rags-to-riches run in the FA Cup is exactly the kind of good television that the club owner’s envisaged could lead to more seasons of the show and continue to raise the popularity of a unique experiment in football.