Wrexham’s rise is no longer a fairy tale – now they want the Premier League | OneFootball

Wrexham head into the final round of Championship fixtures this weekend sat in the play-off spots after another extraordinary season in a rise that has already made history.

For CEO Michael Williamson, the club’s trajectory is built on more than hype and momentum alone, but that has certainly played its part.

Central to that ambition is a belief instilled by Holywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.

“We can be ambitious but kind,” Williamson said speaking to Hayters at Soccerex last year. “Why can’t we be in the Premier League?”

He pointed to the moment that belief was first made public.

“That’s the beauty of Rob Mac, who came in on his first day, he was meeting fans and some of the local press and makes a comment that we’re going to go to the Premier League, and that’s when they’re in the National League,” he said. “Everyone’s thinking this American that came across here doesn’t have any idea what’s going on here, and here we are four years later and we’re in the Championship.

“It’s amazing what you can do when you have a little bit of momentum, some confidence, some continuity, and  a community and a squad that doesn’t believe in anything else but winning.”

Wrexham’s three consecutive promotions from the National League to the Championship remain unprecedented in English football, and Williamson was quick to underline the scale of that achievement.

“We’ve had back-to-back-to-back promotions, three consecutive promotions up the pyramid, coming from National League football all the way up to now playing in the Championship, and that’s never been done in the history of English football before,” he said. “It’s really, really difficult to achieve that.”

The success on the pitch has been matched by the club’s global profile, driven in part by the Welcome to Wrexham documentary, which has introduced the club to millions of new supporters.

“It’s captured the hearts and minds of millions of fans worldwide,” Williamson said. “But they’re not fans of just football, they’re fans of a community and the stories of the people in that community that resonates with them.”

That connection to the town remains central to Wrexham’s identity, even as they edge closer to the Premier League.

“Our core roots are rooted in the community,” he said. “Our success to arrive to our ambitions of being in the Premier League is only going to take place if we maintain being a community football organisation.”

Williamson acknowledged that balancing rapid growth with that identity is one of the club’s biggest challenges.

“That gets more and more difficult as you go up the pyramid,” he said. “But we’ve got to stay rooted and true to who we are and what’s in our DNA.”

Off the pitch, Wrexham have expanded significantly, investing in infrastructure and building a model designed for long-term sustainability.

“It’s got to be sustainable and grow for the long term,” Williamson said. “Our long-term sustainability is also based on the sustainability and the growth of that community.”

That ambition has been matched by global exposure, with Wrexham’s brand now visible far beyond North Wales.

“You walk through Manchester Airport, London Heathrow Airport, and you see a little Wrexham kit there for purchase right next to Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa,” Williamson said. “It’s just absolutely remarkable.”

Despite that growth, focus remains on the pitch and on the job done by manager Phil Parkinson in maintaining cohesion during a season of significant change.

Wrexham brought in 13 new players last summer, a transition that took time to settle.

“It took time for all of them to connect and gel with the players that were already on the squad,” Williamson said. “But Phil and what he does in the dressing room is just absolutely amazing.”

He added: “We’re going to give our hearts and blood and sweat and leave everything out on the pitch for this club and for ourselves and for this team. We’ll fight for each other.”

With the Championship table tightly packed around the play-off places, with Parkinson’s side sitting level on points with Hull City below them and one ahead of Derby County in eighth, Williamson believes Wrexham’s recent history could yet prove decisive.

“If we can find ourselves chasing, I have a lot of confidence,” he said. “Once you’re in the playoff, anything can happen in 90 minutes.”

For a club that has already defied expectations, that belief feels entirely in keeping with the journey so far.