What Makes Wrexham AFC Unique
A Wrexham fan is a supporter of Wrexham AFC, a football club from the town of Wrexham in north Wales that was founded in 1864 and is the third-oldest professional club in the world. That age matters, because it means the club existed before most of the competitions it plays in. Wrexham has never been a giant of English football; it has been something rarer, a small-town club with a stadium at the centre of town and a support base that treats the team as civic property.
The club plays at the Racecourse Ground, known commercially as STōK Cae Ras, the oldest international football stadium in the world still hosting international matches. Wrexham competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football, after three consecutive promotions took the team from the National League to the Championship in three seasons — a feat no club had previously managed in the modern English pyramid.
What separates a Wrexham fan from a fan of a bigger club is the memory of the bad years. Wrexham entered receivership in 2004, was relegated out of the Football League in 2008, and spent 15 seasons in non-league football. For much of that time the club was owned by its own supporters through the Wrexham Supporters Trust, who kept it alive with fundraisers and volunteer labour. Every celebration since 2021 is filtered through that decade and a half of survival.
Famous Wrexham Fans
The most famous Wrexham fans are the two men who bought the club. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, neither of whom had any prior connection to Welsh football, completed their takeover in February 2021 after Humphrey Ker — a British comedian and writer working on McElhenney's show Mythic Quest — suggested the club as an investment in a community rather than a franchise. Ker is now the club's executive director and one of the recurring faces of the documentary.
The Welcome to Wrexham cast turned local supporters into recognisable figures in their own right: Wayne Jones behind the bar at The Turf, the pub attached to the stadium; Shaun Winter and his family in the Kop; Millie Tipping and the fans who sing through 2-0 defeats. Welsh actor Michael Sheen has publicly championed the club, and celebrity visitors including Paul Rudd, Blake Lively, Hugh Jackman and boxer Anthony Joshua have all been photographed at the Racecourse. But the documentary's core argument is that the famous Wrexham fans are the ordinary ones — the people who kept the turnstiles clicking in the National League.
The Red Dragons Nickname
Wrexham are nicknamed the Red Dragons, from Y Ddraig Goch, the red dragon on the Welsh national flag. The club has worn red for most of its history and, as the oldest club in Wales, adopted the national symbol as its own. Fans also use “the Robins” historically, but Red Dragons is the name you will hear in the stands and in the documentary, and it is why Wrexham merchandise leans so heavily on dragon iconography.
How to Watch Wrexham From the US
Most new Wrexham fans in the United States discover the club through the documentary and then want to watch live football. Championship matches are shown in the US on ESPN+, with selected fixtures on ESPN's linear channels; cup ties can move to other rights holders, so check the fixture listing before kick-off. Saturday 3:00pm UK kick-offs land at 10:00am Eastern and 7:00am Pacific, and midweek 7:45pm games are 2:45pm Eastern and 11:45am Pacific.
Our how to watch Wrexham in the US guide covers every broadcaster and streaming option, and the Wrexham fixtures page converts every kick-off time into US time zones automatically.
How to Get Involved in the Fan Community
Supporting Wrexham from thousands of miles away works best when it is social. Join the conversation in our Wrexham fans forum, where supporters run match threads, transfer talk and documentary discussion, and where new fans have their own category for the questions everyone asks in their first season. Follow the latest Wrexham news so you arrive at each match knowing the team news, learn a couple of songs, and pick a matchday routine — early-morning kick-offs become a habit fast.
Beyond that, there are US-based supporters' clubs in most major cities, official membership schemes through the club, and eventually the pilgrimage: a game at the Racecourse Ground, a pint at The Turf, and the realisation that the small Welsh town on your television is a real place full of people who have been doing this for 160 years.
New Wrexham Fan Questions
Who are the most famous Wrexham AFC fans?
The best-known Wrexham supporters are the club’s Hollywood owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, along with Humphrey Ker, the writer and executive producer who first suggested the takeover and now works inside the club. Welsh actor Michael Sheen, boxer Anthony Joshua and countless musicians have publicly backed the club since Welcome to Wrexham aired, while the documentary made local supporters such as Wayne Jones of The Turf pub and the Kop regulars famous in their own right.
What does it mean to be a Wrexham fan?
Being a Wrexham fan means supporting the third-oldest professional football club in the world, a club that spent 15 years outside the Football League and climbed three divisions in three seasons to reach the Championship. It is a community-first identity: the club was fan-owned before the 2021 takeover, and supporters still see themselves as custodians of the Racecourse Ground rather than customers.
How do I become a Wrexham AFC supporter?
There is no formal process. Start by following the fixture list and watching a match, learn the songs, pick up a shirt, and talk to other fans. Many US-based supporters join a local supporters’ club or an online fan community, follow the Welcome to Wrexham series for context, and eventually plan a trip to the Racecourse Ground.
Where can I watch Wrexham AFC games?
In the United States, Championship matches involving Wrexham are carried by ESPN+ with selected games on ESPN linear channels. In the UK, matches appear on Sky Sports and the EFL’s iFollow service for games not selected for broadcast. Our how-to-watch guide converts every kick-off into US Eastern and Pacific time.