Wrexham AFC head into the final round of Championship fixtures this weekend sitting comfortably in the play-off spots, capping off yet another extraordinary season in a rise that has already etched its name into English football history.
For CEO Michael Williamson, the club's remarkable trajectory is about more than just hype and momentum—though those elements have certainly played their part. At the heart of this ambition is a belief system instilled by Hollywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.
"We can be ambitious but kind," Williamson said during an appearance at Soccerex last year. "Why can't we be in the Premier League?"
He recalled the moment that belief was first made public—a moment that felt almost laughable at the time. "That's the beauty of Rob Mac, who came in on his first day meeting fans and local press and made a comment that we're going to go to the Premier League—and that was when they were in the National League," Williamson said. "Everyone thought this American had no idea what was going on. Yet here we are four years later, playing in the Championship."
The numbers tell a story of unprecedented success. Wrexham's three consecutive promotions—from the National League to League Two, then League One, and now the Championship—remain unmatched in English football history. "Back-to-back-to-back promotions, coming from National League football all the way up to the Championship—that's never been done in the history of English football," Williamson emphasized. "It's really, really difficult to achieve that."
The on-pitch success has been matched by an explosion in global profile, fueled largely by the hit documentary series Welcome to Wrexham. "It's captured the hearts and minds of millions of fans worldwide," Williamson said. "But they're not just fans of football—they're fans of a community and the stories of the people in that community that resonate with them."
That deep connection to the town of Wrexham has been the foundation of everything. As Williamson put it: "It's amazing what you can do when you have a little bit of momentum, some confidence, some continuity, and a community and a squad that doesn't believe in anything else but winning."