Are Wrexham a model for other clubs?

Are Wrexham a model for other clubs to emulate or will they hit a glass ceiling in the highly competitive Championship?

AFC Wrexham’s return to English football’s second tier has had a bumpy start, reports the Financial Times. The team owned by two Hollywood actors has lost both its opening games, but will be hoping for better when hosting troubled Sheffield Wednesday this afternoon.

Yet the club is continuing to prosper off the pitch. Last season it sold almost 100,000 kits — with around half going to its vast international fan base. Considering the town of Wrexham has a population of only 45,000, those figures are quite incredible.

New distribution deals with two US retail chains have raised hopes of another big jump this year, while licensing deals mean that Wrexham will soon be making money from merchandise produced and sold by somebody else.

The club’s roster of sponsors is also impressive for a team that was playing non-league football just three years ago. Meta Quest, United Airlines and TikTok are the kind of global commercial partners that many Premier League clubs will be looking at enviously.

The key to Wrexham’s commercial success is having famous owners. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have turned the club into a powerful content factory and media platform. The documentary Welcome to Wrexham — now in its fourth season — attracts around 5mn viewers per episode.

Since the takeover in 2021, the club’s social media following across different platforms has risen from 45,000 to about 4.5mn. Add that to the number of people following the two actor-owners and you’re looking at a figure in the same ballpark as Arsenal.  All this explains why Wrexham executives are expecting commercial revenue this season to rival those of a mid-table Premier League club. In practice that means somewhere between £20mn-£30mn.

It’s actually not that much of a lift. Accounts from 2023/24 showed Wrexham was already bringing in more than £17mn from retail and sponsorship when it was playing in the fourth tier. Total revenue that year more than doubled to £27.6mn. This season that figure is likely to be around £50mn. The club has lost money every year since the takeover.

Michael Williamson, chief executive, told the Pink ‘Un the club’s growth forecasts are cautious, and admits that nobody really knows exactly what this season will bring because merchandise distribution has been such a bottleneck in the past.

This season, Wrexham is aiming to reach the promised land of the Premier League, and has been among the top spenders in the division.  The team may well fall short — the Championship is one of the most exciting, unpredictable and competitive leagues in football. But Wrexham’s commercial engine will give it the financial edge over far bigger and more established clubs so long as that international fan base keeps tuning in.

Lots of other investors are looking to “do a Wrexham” — see Tom Brady’s link-up with Birmingham City or Snoop Dogg’s stake purchase at Swansea. But that looks a lot easier said than done.