Wrexham embrace surprise American fan base on the road

NEW YORK : Wrexham's love affair with American fans begins a new chapter this week, with a series of matches scheduled in the U.S. after they earned a fairytale return to the English Football League.

The Welsh club that languished for 15 years beneath the fourth tier of English football may never have entered the American consciousness if not for celebrity owners and Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and their popular docu-series "Welcome to Wrexham".

Instead, the club has become a source of intense fascination for an American fanbase often blithely ignorant of the English Football drama that unfolds each year across the Atlantic.

"I grew up hearing that America's team in football was the Dallas Cowboys, and I feel like America's team in soccer is now Wrexham," said Jon Mugar, founder and CEO of The Soccer Tournament (TST), a four-day competition kicking off on Thursday in Cary, North Carolina, that features Wrexham.

Mugar said the club was at the top of the list for the 32 teams organisers wanted in the innovative tournament, which features a seven-on-seven format and a winner-takes-all, $1 million prize.

"People are looking for reasons to be excited and feel good. And Wrexham is certainly a feel good story," said Brian Berklich, chief marketing officer at Sports Endeavors, whose Soccer.com is the retail and content partner for the tournament.

"They have been very open to bringing new fans on board and I think that there's just been a connection there that the people have found."

Teams in TST are comprised of current and former players, as well as some unorthodox participants, including retired two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, who will compete alongside former Spain soccer international Cesc Fabregas on Como