Wrexham earns promotion on wild journey with Ryan Reynolds as owner

WREXHAM, Wales — Ryan Reynolds held his head in his hands. Rob McElhenney leaned forward, took a deep breath and was soon wiping tears from his eyes.

Below the Hollywood actors, thousands of Wrexham fans flooded onto the field at the Racecourse Ground, setting off red flares and waving Wales flags.

A previously down-on-its-luck Welsh soccer club thrust into the global spotlight because of its A-list owners was celebrating on Saturday after Wrexham secured promotion to the fourth tier of the English game.

Reynolds and McElhenney, along with actor friend Paul Rudd, were among a crowd of more than 10,000 at the Racecourse in north Wales to see Wrexham clinch the National League title with a 3-1 win over Boreham Wood.

Reynolds and McElhenney embraced in the directors’ box when the fulltime whistle sounded and, before long, were holding up a flag with the words: “Wrexham champions 2022-23.”