Wrexham AFC is coming to Philadelphia
The Welsh soccer team with a popular TV show, part-owned by Philly’s Rob McElhenney, will play the Union’s reserves on July 28.
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Wrexham AFC, the Welsh soccer team whose popularity has exploded in the U.S. thanks to the FX television show Welcome to Wrexham, is coming to Rob McElhenney’s hometown.
As part of its U.S. tour this summer, Wrexham will play the Union’s reserve squad, Union II, at Subaru Park on July 28. It will be a homecoming for McElhenney, the Philadelphia native who owns the team along with fellow Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds. He is reputedly a Union fan as well, and repped the team at last year’s MLS Cup final in Los Angeles.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Wrexham AFC to Subaru Park,” Union president Tim McDermott said in a statement. “They have successfully captured a worldwide audience with their National League title and subsequent promotion to EFL League Two. We look forward to an exciting match and the opportunity it brings for Philadelphia Union II to showcase their talent.”
» READ MORE: Rob McElhenney’s Wrexham earns promotion to England’s Football League
Along with the popularity of the TV show, Wrexham achieved success on the field this past season by winning the championship of England’s National League, the fifth tier of the nation’s soccer pyramid. That earned Wrexham promotion to League Two, returning the team to England’s professional Football League system for the first time in 15 years.
Tickets for the game aren’t available yet, but fans who aren’t Union season-ticket holders can sign up to register interest on the team’s website.
Why not the Union’s first team? For one thing, there’s a Leagues Cup game two days before then — July 26 against Mexico’s Querétaro. The tournament’s knockout rounds start on Aug. 2. That takes priority.
Wrexham had planned to play the Union in an exhibition in 2021 but canceled the trip because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wrexham’s 2021-22 away jerseys had the inscription “It’s Always Sunny …” on the back, a tribute to McElhenney’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia show. (Wrexham’s jerseys were also a midnight green that resembled the Eagles’ colors, but that’s a team tradition.)
» READ MORE: Rob McElhenney bought a Welsh soccer team. FX’s ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ tells the story — and Philly plays a role
Like many European teams that are popular in Philadelphia, Wrexham has a fan base here. It gathers at Mac’s Tavern in Old City, an establishment part-owned by McElhenney.
“The club has had a small taste of the support we have over there, and it will be great to take our first-team players over to see that support firsthand,” Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson said. “The matches scheduled will be a good warmup for our first season back in the EFL, and we’re looking forward to visiting Philadelphia, the home of our co-chairman, Rob McElhenney, for what promises to be a competitive game and a terrific ending to our summer tour.”
Wrexham is playing four teams in its U.S. tour this summer: the English Premier League’s Chelsea and Manchester United and the reserve teams of MLS’s Los Angeles Galaxy and the Union.
» READ MORE: The Gang is coming back to Philly in September for a live taping of ‘The Always Sunny Podcast’
Wrexham U.S. tour schedule
July 19: Chelsea in Chapel Hill, N.C.
July 22: Los Angeles Galaxy II in Carson, Calif.
July 25: Manchester United in San Diego
July 28: Union II at Subaru Park
» READ MORE: The English Premier League’s summer tour will kick off in Philadelphia