Wrexham AFC — Hollywood Owners, EFL Climb, Racecourse Ground

Wrexham AFC plays at the Racecourse Ground, on Mold Road in the city of Wrexham, north-east Wales (LL11 2AH). The stadium has been the club's home since 1864 — the year of the club's founding. It carries the sponsorship name Stok Cae Ras under a 2023 partnership but is universally referred to as the Racecourse by supporters and media.

Wrexham itself is a city of roughly 65,000 in Wrexham County Borough, with the wider conurbation around 135,000. The Racecourse sits about a mile north of Wrexham city centre, walkable from Wrexham General railway station (about 15 minutes). The closest international airports are Liverpool John Lennon (~30 miles) and Manchester (~50 miles).

Wrexham was founded in 1864 by members of the Wrexham Cricket Club who wanted a winter sport. The first recorded fixture was in October 1864 against the Provincial Insurance Co.

By the standard recognition — used by FIFA, the FAW, and major football historians — Wrexham AFC is the third-oldest professional football club in the world still in existence, behind only Notts County (1862) and the various competing claimants for second place. Sheffield FC (1857) is older but never turned fully professional. Wrexham is unambiguously the oldest football club in Wales and one of the oldest in world football.

Wrexham plays in the English football pyramid — the EFL — rather than the Welsh league system. This is a pre-Cymru-Premier-era arrangement: when the FAW formed the Welsh Premier (now Cymru Premier) in 1992, several established Welsh clubs already in the English system were granted permission to remain there. Wrexham, Cardiff City, Swansea City, Newport County, and Merthyr Town all play in English competitions for that historical reason.

Wrexham still competes in the FAW Welsh Cup when entry is permitted, and has won it 23 times — second only to Cardiff City among Welsh-Cup winners. Wrexham also represents Wales in occasional UEFA competition entries via Welsh Cup wins, though the rules around that have varied.

In February 2021, the Wrexham Supporters Trust agreed the sale of the club to a company controlled by Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool, Free Guy) and Rob McElhenney (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia). Reported acquisition price: £2 million. The deal completed in February 2021 after FA approval.

At the point of takeover, Wrexham were a National League club — the fifth tier of English football, one division below the EFL — and had been outside the Football League since relegation in 2008. The club had been fan-owned by the Wrexham Supporters Trust since 2011, after various financial crises.

Reynolds and McElhenney committed to local investment, transparency, and a documentary deal that became "Welcome to Wrexham", premiered on FX in August 2022 and renewed for multiple seasons. The show has been a major driver of the club's commercial revenue and global brand.

Wrexham's rise through the English pyramid since the takeover:

• 2020-21. National League. Reynolds/McElhenney takeover completes February 2021.
• 2021-22. National League play-off final loss to Grimsby. End of first full season under new owners.
• 2022-23. National League champions — record 111 points, ending a 15-year exile from the Football League. Promoted to League Two.
• 2023-24. Promoted from League Two to League One in second place behind Stockport County. Two-in-a-row.
• 2024-25. Promoted from League One to the Championship in second place. Three consecutive promotions — a remarkable feat for a club outside the EFL only three seasons earlier.
• 2025-26. Championship — Wrexham's highest league level since the 1980s. Survival is the immediate target; further investment in squad and ground continues in parallel.

The Racecourse has been continuously used for football since 1864 and continuously hosted international fixtures since 1877. Wales played their first ever international football match at the Racecourse on 5 March 1877 against Scotland — a 2-0 defeat, but the founding moment of Welsh international football.

That continuous-use claim makes the Racecourse the world's oldest international football stadium still hosting top-level fixtures. It is recognised by Guinness World Records under that designation. The stadium continues to host Wales senior, U21, and women's internationals on a regular rotation alongside Cardiff City Stadium.

The Kop end was demolished in 2008 and remains incomplete. Reynolds/McElhenney's investment plan includes phased redevelopment of the Kop and the Mold Road Stand, expected to push capacity from the current ~10,500 toward ~16,000-18,000 in the medium term, with longer-term plans contemplating 30,000+ if the club reaches the Premier League.

The FX/Disney+ documentary "Welcome to Wrexham" premiered on 24 August 2022, with subsequent seasons released annually. Reynolds and McElhenney both appear as on-camera narrators alongside players, staff, and supporters. The show has won multiple Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Unstructured Reality Programme category.

The documentary is the single biggest commercial driver behind Wrexham's brand growth: shirt-sponsorship deals (TikTok, Vista x Aviation Gin, etc.), pre-season tours of North America, and a sustained spike in away-match attendance from travelling supporters who first encountered Wrexham via the show. The economic impact on Wrexham city has been documented by the Welsh Government and local-tourism boards.

Wrexham's major honours, by competition:

• FAW Welsh Cup — 23 wins (1878, 1883, 1893, 1897, 1903, 1905, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1921, 1924, 1925, 1931, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1972, 1975, 1978, 1986, 1995). Second-most wins of any Welsh club.
• Football League Third Division — champions 1977-78. Highest league finish: top of the (third-tier) Football League Third Division.
• Notable Cup runs. Wrexham's 1991-92 FA Cup third-round win over reigning English champions Arsenal (2-1) is one of the most-cited cup upsets in English football history. Mickey Thomas' free-kick goal sealed it.
• National League champions — 2022-23 (record 111 points).
• Two League promotions in 2023-24 and 2024-25 — the first English club to win three consecutive promotions from the National League up since the modern playoff system was introduced.

Three practical visit tips:

• Train. Wrexham General is the closest station, ~15 minutes' walk to the Racecourse. Direct services from Liverpool, Chester, and Birmingham via Crewe.
• Match-day demand. Since the takeover, demand for tickets has been substantially higher than pre-2021. Members and supporters-club tickets sell out fast; general-sale availability is limited at most home matches.
• Tour the Racecourse. The club runs heritage tours including the changing rooms, the Kop redevelopment site, and the international-match memorabilia. Tours can be booked via wrexhamafc.co.uk.