Wrexham A.F.C.

General

Kit history

Wrexham
Full name	Wrexham Association Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Red Dragons, The Robins, The Town
Founded	1864
Ground	Racecourse Ground (Capacity: 13,341)
Owner	Wrexham Holdings LLC
Manager	Phil Parkinson
Current League	League One
2023–24	League Two, 2nd (promoted)
Website	Club home page
Current season

Wrexham Association Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Wrecsam) is a Welsh professional football club based in the city of Wrexham. Formed in 1864, they are the oldest club in Wales and the third oldest professional football team in the world. Since August 2011 Wrexham have been a supporter-owned football club. As of May 2015, the club has 4,129 adult members and joint owners.

The club compete in League One, the third tier of English football. Wrexham are perhaps most notable for an FA Cup upset over reigning English Champions Arsenal in 1992 and a 1–0 victory over FC Porto in 1984 in the European Cup Winners' Cup. Wrexham were eligible for the Cup Winners' Cup due to winning the Welsh Cup, their first European tie was against FC Zürich of Switzerland in 1972 and their final European fixture was played in Romania against Petrolul Ploiești in 1995.

Wrexham's honours include winning the Third Division title in 1977-78, the Welsh Cup a record 23 times, the Football League Trophy in 2005 at the Millennium Stadium and the FA Trophy in 2013 at Wembley Stadium. Wrexham are also record winners of the short-lived FAW Premier Cup, winning it five times out of the 11 years of its tenure, participating against fellow Welsh clubs such as; Cardiff City, Swansea City and Newport County.

Wrexham's home stadium, the Racecourse Ground, is the world's oldest international stadium that still continues to host international games. The record attendance at the ground was set in 1957, when Wrexham hosted a match against Manchester United in front of 36,445 spectators.

Supporters and rivalries

Wrexham gain strong support from the city of Wrexham itself, as well as surrounding areas. Nearby towns such as Flint, Mold, Holywell and Buckley are strongholds, as well as further afield along the north coast of Wales. Areas such as Prestatyn, Rhyl, Llandudno, Ruthin and Denbigh are further afield but still maintain strong support for the club. Even north-western areas like Bala, Bangor and Caernarfon maintain Wrexham supporters clubs. Many Wrexham fans also reside over the English border in Cheshire and Shropshire. Supporters groups can be found in South Wales as well as English cities like Manchester and London. Strong support from the United States and Canada can also be found since the takeover of the club by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny.

There is a namesake club in Uganda, set up in 2009 by Welsh charity Teams4U, named Wrexham AFC Uganda.

Wrexham maintain a strong Cross-border rivalry with near neighbours Chester. The two clubs are located just 10 miles apart, but are Welsh and English respectively, despite the fact that the majority of Chester's ground, the Deva Stadium, is actually located over the Welsh border. Another fierce rivalry exists with Shrewsbury Town. To a slightly lesser extent, rivalries with Tranmere Rovers, Crewe Alexandra and, more recently, Stockport County also exist due to geographical reasons. Within Wales, Welsh rivalries exist with Newport County and to a lesser extent Cardiff City and Swansea City.

Supporters of Wrexham maintain friendly relations with supporters of Irish club Bohemians and Scottish champions Celtic.

External links

• Official website