North Wales 'fan zone' confirmed for Wales' World Cup matches

The landlord of the famous Turf Hotel next to Wrexham AFC's Racecourse Ground has confirmed that they will host a 'fan zone' for two of Wales' World Cup group matches. Wayne Jones, who has served as landlord of the iconic pub for around 14 years, revealed on Twitter that the fan zone will be in place for the matches against the USA and England.

Around 500 people will be able to attend the event, which will be situated in the car park alongside the pub and the Kop end of the Racecourse Ground. The Turf has hosted similar events there before, most notably when several local bands and musicians played before Wrexham AFC's first home game of the 2021/22 campaign against Notts County.

Wales confirmed their qualification for the 2022 World Cup with a win against Ukraine at the Cardiff City Stadium earlier this month. It is expected that there will be other fan zones set up across North Wales as many supporters have been put off travelling to Qatar for the tournament, due to various reasons - including the huge costs involved.

Turf landlord Wayne Jones told North Wales Live: "We're delighted that Wrexham County Borough Council have allowed us to set up a medium-sized fanzone. We're also pleased to give our loyal regulars a couple of days to remember.

"We'll be releasing more details on how to buy a wristband etc shortly via my Twitter account (@welshy1000)."

Wrexham town centre was one of the many places across North Wales which witnessed unprecedented scenes of joy during Euro 2016 as Wales defied the odds to reach the semi-final of the tournament. Hundreds of people gathered on the town's High Street to celebrate the win over Belgium in the quarter-final.

Wales' last tournament was Euro 2020, held in 2021 because of Covid.