Wrexham AFC is moving up once again. The Welsh club has secured promotion to the EFL Championship, one tier below the Premier League, after a 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic on Saturday.
Midfielder Oliver Rathbone opened the scoring for Wrexham in the 15th minute, followed by a pair of goals from striker Sam Smith in the 18th and 81st minutes. With the win, Wrexham secured 89 points with one game remaining, clinching a second-place finish and its third consecutive promotion.
Wrexham currently plays in League One, the third tier of English football; they will now begin play in the Championship, the second tier, next season. The top two clubs in League One are promoted at the end of the season, plus the winner of a playoff between the clubs in third through sixth position. (Birmingham, which has 102 points, has already clinched the top position in the league.)
It’s been quite a run for Wrexham, which has now been promoted three times in three straight seasons — an accomplishment that is unheard of at this level of the English leagues.
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Wrexham has had a huge boost under the ownership of actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who bought the team in November 2020. The pair have chronicled the process of purchasing and overhauling the club through their popular series “Welcome to Wrexham.”
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds purchased Wrexham in 2020. (Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
(Martin Rickett – PA Images via Getty Images)
In the second year after Reynolds and McElhenney took over, Wrexham was promoted to the fourth-tier League Two, returning to the professional league for the first time in over a decade. Last year, the team was promoted again, landing in League One after back-to-back promotions.
Despite Wrexham’s resounding success over the past few years, the odds of promotion to the Premier League are relatively slim. Teams in the Championship — many of which have recently played in the Premier League — tend to have better players, bigger stadiums and more money, making it difficult for a smaller team like Wrexham to compete.
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Wrexham has averaged 12,757 fans per game — a number that is relevant for ticket sales and revenue as well as home environment. In contrast, Southhampton, which is at the very bottom of the Premier League this season and is set to be relegated as a result, has average attendance closer to 30,000.
With that said, Wrexham has certainly overcome the odds before: If we’ve learned anything with this team, it’s that anything is possible.
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