Welcome to Philly: Rob McElhenney’s Wrexham play the Union’s reserves Friday

When Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds bought Welsh soccer team Wrexham A.F.C. in November 2020, the two Hollywood actors knew little about the city of Wrexham, less about its ancient club, and only a little bit more about soccer, period.

Fast-forward 2½ years and the duo are among the most popular people in Wrexham, after overseeing the club’s first promotion from the National League to League Two (England’s fourth division) in 15 years. Friday represents a full-circle moment for Philadelphia native McElhenney, as Wrexham wraps up its U.S. preseason tour with a friendly against Union II (the team’s reserves) at Subaru Park (7:30 p.m.), not far from where McElhenney grew up.

McElhenney, best known for his role as Mac on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, called it “a dream come true” on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, Thursday. But not even he could have imagined the fanfare and success Wrexham have enjoyed since he and Reynolds’ involvement. McElhenney’s journey started from observing soccer through his friend, Humphrey Ker, an English actor and writer, and watching some soccer docuseries during the COVID-19 lockdown.

McElhenney was intrigued by the sport, particularly by the passion and attachment European fans have toward their teams — something he was naturally drawn to as a Philadelphian. He told Ker to find him a club he could get involved with, and Ker made some calls. After McElhenney recruited one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors in Reynolds, the duo, for a price of $2.5 million, became owners of Wrexham, the oldest club in Wales, having been founded in 1864.

An FX TV show titled Welcome to Wrexham, which chronicles the club’s history, the dynamics and people of the Welsh city, and the Hollywood actors’ unlikely foray into British soccer ownership, soon followed. After a gut-wrenching end to Season 1 (the 2021-22 season), the show returns this fall for Season 2, which will premiere Sept. 12 on FX and also be available for streaming on Hulu.

Last year, Wrexham mania reached a new level as the club earned promotion to England’s Football League, a significant achievement for a club that had been struggling financially in anonymity for over a decade. Former Premier League goalkeeper and successful YouTuber Ben Foster signed for the club at the end of last season, bringing even more visibility to Wrexham. In March, the club announced it would tour the U.S. to prepare for the 2023-24 season, all while continuing to build the club’s brand and promote the show. After winning promotion, McElhenney and Reynolds even paid for an all-expenses trip for the team to celebrate in Las Vegas, which preceded the tour.

Over the past year, Wrexham have become a brand, and McElhenney and Reynolds are the two most recognizable faces of it. Experts estimate Wrexham is now worth $10 million, which would mean a 300% increase on McElhenney and Reynolds’ investment in less than three years.

The team’s global popularity because of the TV show has been on full display this summer. Since July 19, Wrexham have been touring the States, playing friendlies in North Carolina, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Friday at Subaru Park in Chester. Fourth-division teams don’t traditionally tour the U.S., but, then again, Wrexham has proven it is no ordinary lower-league club, given its owners. Wrexham’s first game of the tour, a 5-0 loss to English power Chelsea, drew over 50,000 fans. Another 34,000 people packed into San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium on Tuesday for the Red Dragons’ 3-1 win over Manchester United’s reserves.

Friday will be the final stop of the tour for the popular Welsh visitors, and it will be an extra special one for McElhenney, who grew up in South Philly and attended St. Joseph’s Prep and later Temple. A rabid Philly sports fan returning to his hometown as the owner of a Welsh soccer club with a rabid fan base of its own — maybe somebody should film a TV series about that someday ...

The result was a 1-1 draw interrupted by a lengthy weather delay. Jeremy Rafanello scored Union II’s goal in first-half stoppage time after Wrexham took an early lead.