Wrexham FC competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the "English Football League Pyramid". The club was formed in 1864 and is the oldest football club in Wales and the fourth oldest professional club in the World. 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 the club hosted a match against Manchester United in front of 34,445 spectators.
The club was formed in October 1864 by members of the Wrexham Cricket Club who wanted a sporting activity for the winter months. Their first game was played on 22 October 1864 at the Denbigh County Cricket Ground (The Racecourse) against the Prince of Wales Fire Brigade.
As the rules of football were still somewhat fluid at the time, early matches featured teams with up to 17 players on each side (16 players when playing the Provincial Insurance Office and Chester College, 15 players against the Volunteer Fire Brigade). In these early years Wrexham were leaders of the campaign to restrict teams to having just 11 players on the pitch at any one time.
In 1876, the newly formed Football Association of Wales played their first international match against Scotland at The West of Scotland Cricket featuring some Wrexham players, the first of many.
The club played in ftiendlies and local leagues until they became inaugural members of the Football League's Third Division North in 1921. They spent 47 years in the Northern section until they were placed in the re-organised EngishThird Division in 1958 and then relegated two years later. Wrexham were promoted out of the Fourth Division in 1961–62, only to be relegated again two years later.
Another promotion followed in 1969–70 and they reached the second tier for the first time after winning the Third Division title in 1977–78. Two successive relegations saw them back in the fourth tier by 1983 and there were various ups and downs before worsening financial problems resulted in another relegation and then administration in December 2004. It took 18 months for the club to exit administration and the club's decline on the pitch continued, as they dropped out of the Football League in 2008. Since then Wrexham have had four unsuccessful play-off campaigns in the Conference and National League.
Wrexham's honours include winning the Welsh FA Cup a record 23 times, the Football League Trophy in 2005 at the Millenium Stadium and the FA Trophy at wembley. In 1992, Wrexham upset Arsenal, the English champions in the FA Cup. They also scored a 1–0 victory over FC POrto in 1984 in the European Cup Winners Cup. Wrexham were eligible for the European Cup Winners' Cup due to winning the Welsh Cup.
Since 1864 Wrexham have played their home games at The Racecourse Ground. In August 2011 Glyndŵr University purchased the stadium and the club training facilities in Gresford. Since then, they have added their name to the stadium for it to become The Glyndŵr University Racecourse Stadium. Subsequently, in 2016, Wrexham Supporters Trust secured a 99-year lease on the ground, and the name has reverted to the Racecourse Ground. The capacity is 10,500, making it one of the largest stadiums in the National League.
Wrexham's training ground was the purpose-built Colliers' Park in neighbouring Gresford in 1997, which is widely regarded in British football as one of the best training grounds outside of the top flight and one of the best never to have been used by a top-flight team.... eg England, Barcelona, Rangers and the Wales FA. Colliers Park continues to be improved; a running hill, as well as all-weather pitches and a small stand have been constructed since the facilities opened in 1997. Colliers Park is now owned by Glyndwr University as part of their purchase of the Racecourse Ground assets. The attraction is the historical connection with the local community and the new owners do not expect to change that.
In November 2020, Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds and American actor Rob McElHenny, through the RR McReynolds Company LLC, announced that they would be taking over the club. The deal received the backing of 98.6% of the 2,000 members of the Wrexham Supporters Trust, and was completed in February 2021. Following the new ownership, a documentary called Welcome to Wrexham was in production for FX with Boardwalk Pictures, an American documentary filmaker. They were included in FIFA 2022 as part of the "Rest of World" section, becoming the first non-league team to be featured in the series. The two have recently spent an evening in local, The Turf Hotel, downing shots and reassuring the locals their intentions are honest. The locals adopted them and immediately there was a trust and rapport; and lots of money!
Wrexham, with Phil Parkinson at the helm, have had a slow start to their season, with 4 wins from 11 games; a change from the past 13 years mediocrity is not immediate. The most recent result was a loss at Maidenhead in the Isthmian League.
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