Wrexham players celebrate their promotion to the EFL after beating Boreham Wood.Credit:Martin Rickett
“We can feel what it means to the town,” McElhenney said on the field. “This is a moment of catharsis for them and celebration. For us to be welcomed into the community,and to be welcomed into this experience,has been the honour of my life.”
Since their unlikely takeover,Reynolds (21 million) and McElhenney (1 million) have used their large Twitter followings to promote the club and brought in sponsors such as TikTok,Aviation Gin and Expedia,global brands that typically have no place at this level of the game.
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The actors are also living up to the promises they made when taking over,like making improvements to the stadium and investing heavily in the women’s team. They brought in board members and advisers with experience of top-level soccer and who have made good,sensible decisions.
The industrial town of about 65,000 people,located near the northwest English border and close to the soccer hotbeds of Liverpool and Manchester,has been abuzz with excitement for the past two years.
Last season,Wrexham lost in the playoffs to miss out on promotion but made no mistake a year later to get out of the non-leagues,where some teams are semi-professional.
Wrexham finished the game to a backdrop of fans joyously singingWe Are Going Up,with Reynolds and McElhenney joining in. Rudd also seemed to enjoy the occasion — he was spotted drinking a beer with locals before the game.
“I’m not sure I can actually process what happened tonight,” Reynolds said. “I’m still a little speechless.“
AP
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