Wrexham A.F.C
Wrexham Association Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Wrecsam) is a professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. Formed in 1864,[2] it is the oldest club in Wales and the third-oldest professional association football team in the world.[3] They compete in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system.
| Wrexham A.F.C. Logo.svg | ||||
| Full name | Wrexham Association Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Red Dragons, The Robins, The Town | |||
| Short name | Wrexham Football Club Clwb Pêl-droed Wrecsam (Welsh) | |||
| Founded | October 1864[1] | |||
| Owners | Wrexham Holdings LLC (Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney) | |||
| Manager | Phil Parkinson | |||
| League | National League | |||
| 2019–20 | National League, 19th of 24 | |||
| Website | Club home page | |||
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The club initially participated in friendlies and cup competitions, and first entered a league by joining The Combination in 1890. It spent 13 seasons in the Combination and two seasons in the Welsh Senior League, winning four Combination titles and two Welsh Senior League titles. It entered the Birmingham & District League in 1905, where it would remain until becoming inaugural members of the Football League's Third Division North in 1921. It spent 37 years in the Northern section until it was placed in the re-organised Third Division in 1958 and then relegated two years later. Wrexham was promoted out of the Fourth Division in 1961–62, only to be relegated again two years later. Another promotion followed in 1969–70, and it reached the Second Division for the first time after winning the Third Division title in 1977–78. Two successive relegations saw it back in the fourth tier by 1983, and it saw no further promotion until 1992–93. Relegated once more in 2002, it gained immediate promotion in 2002–03, before worsening financial problems resulted in another relegation and then administration in December 2004. It took 18 months for the club to exit administration and the club's decline on the pitch continued, as it dropped out of the Football League in 2008. Wrexham subsequently had five unsuccessful play-off campaigns in the fifth tier of the English football league system, before being promoted as champions of the 2022–23 National League; they play in the EFL League Two.
Wrexham's honours include winning the Welsh Cup a record 23 times, the Football League Trophy in 2005 at the Millennium Stadium and the FA Trophy in 2013 at Wembley Stadium. The club are also record winners of the short-lived FAW Premier Cup, winning it five times out of the 11 years of its tenure, participating against fellow Welsh clubs such as Cardiff City, Swansea City and Newport County. However, their biggest rivalries are with English clubs Chester, Shrewsbury Town, and Tranmere Rovers, with games between the clubs known as the cross-border derby.[4] In 1992, Wrexham upset the reigning English Champions Arsenal in the FA Cup. They also scored a 1–0 victory over FC Porto in 1984 in the European Cup Winners' Cup. Wrexham were eligible for the European Cup Winners' Cup due to winning the Welsh Cup; their first European tie was against FC Zürich of Switzerland in 1972 and their last was played in Romania against Petrolul Ploiești in 1995. Wrexham's home stadium, the Racecourse Ground, is the world's oldest international stadium that still continues to host international games.[5] The record attendance at the ground was set in 1957, when the club hosted a match against Manchester United in front of 34,445 spectators.[6]
The 2020 acquisition by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and the attendant publicity from the docuseries Welcome to Wrexham had a significant impact on the club's visibility, leading to its acquiring a new global fanbase with no precedent for a team who were then in the fifth division.[7]
- ↑ Randall, Liam. "Wrexham FC Fans To Vote To Accept 1864 Date Change". Wrexham.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ↑ Randall, Liam. "Wrexham FC Fans To Vote To Accept 1864 Date Change". Wrexham.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Peter. "Wrexham AFC History". Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
- ↑ Lewis, Thomas (5 January 2022). "We asked Wrexham fans who the club's main rivals were - here's what you said". North Wales Live. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ↑ Bagnall, Steve (17 June 2008). "Guinness cheers Racecourse with official record". Daily Post Wales. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
- ↑ "Wrexham v Manchester United, 26 January 1957". 11v11.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ↑
Wrexham A.F.C Media
The Turf Hotel at Wrexham AFC's Racecourse Ground
Wrexham side that won the Welsh Cup in 1878
Chart of yearly table positions of Wrexham A.F.C. in the English football league system
Defender Alan Hill played over 250 games for Wrexham between 1973 and 1983
Match at the Racecourse in 2004
Ryan Valentine scores the goal that keeps Wrexham in the Football League.
Scoreboard showing the game that kept Wrexham in the Football League and condemned Boston United to the Conference
Wrexham at Wembley Stadium in 2013
Wrexham FC shop
Scudder, Jake (26 September 2022). "Wrexham AFC: The fastest growing club in the world". Soccer Scene.com. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
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