Ryan Reynolds And Rob McElhenney May Bring Women’s World Cup To Wrexham

Ambitious plans to redevelop the oldest venue in the world to stage international soccer could result in Wrexham hosting matches at the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Welsh club are owned by American actor Rob McElhenney and Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, through their RR McReynolds Company LLC. Since their takeover was approved in 2021, they have helped the team secure three successive promotions from tier five to tier two of the English men’s game. The club’s fortunes have been documented on the hugely successful FX television series “Welcome to Wrexham” broadcast on Disney Plus.

The Hollywood actors were present on Saturday to see their team play its first game of the new Championship season against West Bromwich Albion, a match watched by an attendance of 10,656 spectators. It was the club’s first game at that level for 43 years.

The United Kingdom are the sole bidders to host the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup. It will be the second tournament to feature 48 teams and will therefore utilise more venues than previous editions. The Football Associations of the four nations staging games – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales – will submit their bid document to FIFA in November which is expected to include up to sixteen stadiums.

It is believed that the Football Association of Wales (FAW) want to put forward two stadiums, one in Cardiff, in the south of the country, and one in the north of the nation. The Racecourse Ground (Y Cae Ras in Welsh) is the largest ground in North Wales and has a storied history having first staged games in 1864.

Currently, FIFA bid requirements stipulate that a minimum of eight stadiums must be proposed and each stadium must be an all-seater with a minimum capacity of 20,000. This is double the current limit of the Racecourse Ground.

A new 7,750-capacity Kop Stand is currently being developed which will take the seating capacity to 18,000. It will be fully compliant with UEFA Category Four stadium requirements. The new Kop will be completed in time for it to be used next summer when the stadium will host matches at the U19 UEFA European Championship.

However in May 2024, Reynolds and McElhenney outlined plans to redevelop all four sides of the ground. McElhenney said “it’s hard to say for sure, but we think we can get between 45,000 and 55,000 people in there”. Stadium architects Populous have been appointed to create a masterplan for the venue.

Speaking to the Press Association yesterday, Noel Mooney, the chief executive of the Football Association of Wales (FAW) admitted that “the Kop development is a significant first step and the vision for the stadium is incredible.”

“What Ryan and Rob are doing is amazing. They are looking to look to invest in the stadium and build up the Cae Ras, which is the oldest international ground in the world, and there is a potential North Star for them. The city and the club have a chance to bring a World Cup to North Wales. What a story that would be. What a legacy for Ryan and Rob to leave Wrexham.”

The Racecourse Ground first hosted an international games in 1877 when Wales played Scotland on March 5. Since then it has staged 95 senior international Wales matches, more than any other stadium in the country. The last of those came against Gibraltar in October 2023.

The Wrexham Women’s team were promoted to the Welsh Premier Division in 2023 and finished fourth in the league last season. The investment and interest created by Reynolds and McElhenney have led to a partnership between the women’s team and Ally Financial, the largest all-digital bank in the United States.

As part of the deal, they organised for the team to compete in tour matches in the United States in 2024 and, this summer, in Hong Kong. Last month, the Welsh women’s team competed at their first-ever senior tournament, the UEFA Women’s Euro in Switzerland. The Welsh women’s team played Sweden at the Racecourse Ground in the UEFA Nations League in February.

As hosts of the Women’s World Cup, Wales will qualify automatically for a tournament they have never competed at before. Mooney added that “there is a symbiotic relationship there where we can create a lot of value for each other. People all over the world are talking about Wrexham and that inspires partners like FIFA, commercial bodies and Governments to get involved.”