Rob McElhenneyWrexham AFC
Hollywood A-listers Paul Rudd, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney celebrated alongside lifelong fans as superstar-owned club Wrexham won promotion back to the Football League on Saturday. There were tears of joy among fans and owners as Wrexham returned to the Football League after 15 years away. Deadpool star Reynolds told BT Sport, pointing to the celebrating Wrexham fans, “I’m not sure I can actually process what happened tonight, I’m speechless.” Paul Mullin’s two goals created a party atmosphere at the sell-out Racecourse and at the final whistle, emotional Wrexham fans spilled out onto the pitch as their Hollywood owners cried in the directors’ box.
McElhenney added to BT Sport: “How it feels for the town is the most important to us – it’s a moment of catharsis for them and celebration – and to be welcomed into this community and this experience is the honour of my life.” The owners joined their team on the pitch and embraced the players that made their dream come true before Wrexham captain Ben Tozer lifted the National League trophy.
Wrexham’s promotion also got Royal approval as the Prince of Wales tweeted: “Congratulations Wrexham AFC. A club with such amazing history, looking forward to a very exciting future back in the Football League. Doing Wales proud,” Prince William said on Twitter. Former England striker and Match of the Day host Gary Lineker also congratulated Wrexham on social media, while Wrexham legend Mickey Thomas, the former Wales and Manchester United star, thanked the club’s players and owners for sealing promotion.
The whole city came out to join the party and at half-time, staff at Maesgwyn Hall, where many fans were watching the game, said they had sold 6,600 pints so far and needed more kegs to make it to the end of the match. BBC News reporter Brendon Williams at the Racecourse reported that in every corner of the city, a chant of “15 years of hurt” was heard over the Saturday evening breeze, but it was chanted with joy, because for those Wrexham fans, the hurt is now over. Horns were sounding all over the place and there were still people outside the Racecourse gates for hours after the final whistle, presumably hoping to get a glimpse of their Hollywood owners to show their love and appreciation.
However, it wasn’t straight forward for nervy Wrexham as they were held 1-1 at half-time – and even went behind in the first minute as Boreham Wood opened the scoring. But Wrexham responded as top scorer Mullin led an incredible recovery, scoring his 46th and 47th goal of the season as the side won the second title in their history.
Acting star Rudd was seen chatting with fans, posing for pictures and singing songs ahead of the big game in the pub next to the ground. Since the takeover by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2021, the club has surged in popularity around the world with acting royalty Will Ferrell and football icon David Beckham going to Wrexham games.
Hollywood A-listers Paul Rudd, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney celebrated alongside lifelong fans as superstar-owned club Wrexham won promotion back to the Football League on Saturday. Tears of joy were seen among fans and owners as Wrexham returned to the Football League after 15 years away. Deadpool star Reynolds told BT Sport, pointing to the celebrating Wrexham fans, “I’m not sure I can actually process what happened tonight, I’m speechless.” Paul Mullin’s two goals created a party atmosphere at the sell-out Racecourse and at the final whistle, emotional Wrexham fans spilled out onto the pitch as their Hollywood owners cried in the directors’ box.
McElhenney added to BT Sport: “How it feels for the town is the most important to us – it’s a moment of catharsis for them and celebration – and to be welcomed into this community and this experience is the honour of my life.” The owners joined their team on the pitch and embraced the players that made their dream come true before Wrexham captain Ben Tozer lifted the National League trophy. Wrexham’s promotion also got Royal approval as the Prince of Wales tweeted: “Congratulations Wrexham AFC. A club with such amazing history, looking forward to a very exciting future back in the Football League. Doing Wales proud,” Prince William said on Twitter. Former England striker and Match of the Day host Gary Lineker also congratulated Wrexham on social media, while Wrexham legend Mickey Thomas, the former Wales and Manchester United star, thanked the club’s players and owners for sealing promotion.
The whole city came out to join the party and at half-time, staff at Maesgwyn Hall, where many fans were watching the game, said they had sold 6,600 pints so far and needed more kegs to make it to the end of the match. BBC News reporter Brendon Williams at the Racecourse reported that in every corner of the city, a chant of “15 years of hurt” was heard over the Saturday evening breeze, but it was chanted with joy, because for those Wrexham fans, the hurt is now over. Horns were sounding all over the place and there were still people outside the Racecourse gates for hours after the final whistle, presumably hoping to get a glimpse of their Hollywood owners to show their love and appreciation.
However, it wasn’t straight forward for nervy Wrexham as they were held 1-1 at half-time – and even went behind in the first minute as Boreham Wood opened the scoring. But Wrexham responded as top scorer Mullin led an incredible recovery, scoring his 46th and 47th goal of the season as the side won the second title in their history. Acting star Rudd was seen chatting with fans, posing for pictures and singing songs ahead of the big game in the pub next to the ground. Since the takeover by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2021, the club has surged in popularity around the world with acting royalty Will Ferrell and football icon David Beckham going to Wrexham games.
Nine-year-old Sonny, going to the game with his dad Doug, said he had never known a day as exciting as this one. Paris Trow, manager of Maesgwyn Hall in Wrexham, said that since Reynolds’ and McElhenney’s takeover in 2021, “It’s just so much more busy… everyone’s talking about Wrexham. It’s just madness.” Mair Roberts (81) and her brother William Griffiths (83) have been coming to Wrexham games for 100 years between them; William said he has been supporting Wrexham “for 60 odd years” and Mair predicted a 3-1 Wrexham win before kick-off.
At half-time staff at Maesgwyn Hall said they had sold 6,600 pints so far and needed more kegs to make it to the end of the match. Horns were sounding all over the place and there were still people outside Racecourse gates for hours after final whistle, presumably hoping to get glimpse of their Hollywood owners to show love and appreciation. But it wasn’t straight forward for nervy Wrexham as they were held 1-1 at half-time – even going behind in first minute as Boreham Wood opened scoring – before top scorer Mullin led incredible recovery scoring his 46th and 47th goal of season as side won second title in their history.