Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Wrexham AFC’s staff and players celebrated the team’s promotion with an open-top bus parade on Tuesday evening.
Thousands of fans lined up along a 3.5-mile route in the north Wales city as three buses left from the club’s Racecourse ground carrying the team that won the National League title and promotion back to the English Football League after a 15-year absence. The women’s side also clinched promotion to the Genero Adran Premier by winning their playoff final.
The celebrations come after Reynolds and McElhenney, who bought Wrexham in 2021, told the Welsh-language broadcaster S4C that it remained their aim to reach the Premier League, even if it took 20 years.
Reynolds said: “Ultimately, like any business you want it to self-perpetuate and continue growing. You don’t want to lose money but I don’t think either of us are in this to make money either. So it’s just about growing the best possible club and finding value in any place we can, whether that’s financial or emotional: sometimes that’s indistinguishable.”
Asked if they still hoped to reach the Premier League, the pair said it was “100%” possible.
Reynolds said: “Of course our goal is to get to the Premier League – why wouldn’t it be, if we can do that? Whether it takes five years, whether it takes 20 years, that’s the goal, that’s the mission.”
McElhenney said media reports suggesting they had lost £3m since taking over the club did not “take into account so many different things”.
He said: “We don’t respond to it because we know what the truth is, which is that the club is certainly on its way to becoming sustainable and that’s what our goal is.”
Wrexham council’s lead member for the economy and regeneration, Nigel Williams, said promotion was “a fantastic momentous occasion for Wrexham”.
The Wrexham AFC chief executive, Fleur Robinson, said the parade was an opportunity to thank the community “for their incredible support”. “We are looking forward to commemorating a truly memorable and record-breaking season together,” she said.
Fans of the team have become accustomed to seeing high-profile individuals at the ground since the takeover by the Hollywood actors, whose ownership of the team is the subject of the Disney+ docuseries Welcome to Wrexham.
Last month, Paul Rudd cheered on the team to the win against Boreham Wood that secured promotion.
In February, Will Ferrell was pictured having a pint of beer with football fans on his first visit to watch Wrexham in action.
