‘The good days are back’: Wrexham enjoys cross-Atlantic party with club on brink of promotion

To those who say football is only a game, tell them to go to Wrexham.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s an unbelievable place now,” marvels 76-year-old John Evans in his wheelchair outside the town’s historic Racecourse football stadium. A crowd has gathered around a brass band playing Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon and a carnival atmosphere fills the Mold Road.

Evans, who has terminal cancer, used to cycle 23 miles to watch his beloved Wrexham as a teenager but has not watched many games recently due to his ill health. The club learned about his situation and gave him two of the most sought-after tickets in Wales. “It’s really special. It’s a dream come true,” he says. “The good days are back now, aren’t they?”

In a script from a Hollywood film set, little Wrexham AFC are on the brink of a return to the football league for the first time in 15 years following their beguiling takeover by the actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The world’s third-oldest professional football club, nicknamed the Dragons, will be promoted on Saturday if they beat Boreham Wood, in a party that could well be heard across the Atlantic.

“I just wanted to be here in person to experience the atmosphere,” said Joe Donahue, 42, sipping a Wrexham lager opposite the stadium after a 9,000-mile round-trip from his native Alabama. He is one of legions of North American fans who have become hooked on the team after watching the Disney/HBO documentary Welcome to Wrexham, which charts its takeover by Reynolds and McElhenney in November 2020.

Tourists from all over the world have descended on Wrexham since the takeover and the club has a growing swell of A-list fans. Will Ferrell was pictured having a pint with fans in February while the actors