Calling All 'Welcome to Wrexham' Fans: Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's Welsh Football Club Is Set to Play Down Under
Wrexham AFC has locked in matches against Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC in Australia, and against Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand.
If you've had the words "bring on the Deadpool and Rob McElhеnney" stuck in your head since 2022, or "we've got Mullin, super Paul Mullin" instead — or as well — then you're either a fan of Welcome to Wrexham or Wrexham AFC, or both. It was back in 2020 that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Mythic Quest's McElhenney bought the Welsh football club with Deadpool & Wolverine's Ryan Reynolds. Two years later, a documentary series about that huge move dropped its first season on Disney+. Success has followed both on the field and on the screen, including a run of promotions for the club and three more seasons of the series — the latest of which, the fourth, arrives on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Thanks to a show that's not too far from an IRL Ted Lasso, Wrexham's fanbase has gone global. Hollywood's involvement will do that — but, as the series has chronicled to touching effect, Reynolds and McElhenney have always put revitalising the club, its stadium, and the town and community around it first. In 2025, Wrexham are heading Down Under, too, in a literal sense. The club has announced three games across Australia and New Zealand in July, visiting the two countries on its pre-season tour.
"From the very beginning, we wanted to help make Wrexham a globally recognised team, town and brand," said McElhenney and Reynolds, announcing the Down Under trip, which will see the team play in Melbourne, Sydney and Wellington.
"We could not be more excited to bring the Red Dragons to Australia and New Zealand, and we are particularly proud that this announcement features neither a Men at Work or Hugh Jackman joke. The latter of which took maturity and tremendous restraint. We're proud of Ryan. Of course, we make no promises going forward."
Wrexham will face off against a trio of local squads: lining up against Melbourne Victory at Marvel Stadium on Friday, July 11; taking on Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Tuesday, July 15; and competing against Wellington Phoenix at Sky Stadium on Saturday, July 19.
For their past two pre-season tours, Wrexham have unsurprisingly journeyed to the US, including playing games against fellow UK sides Manchester United and Chelsea. Now, they're hitting Australia and Aotearoa as part of their plans to ideally be in the same league as both of those powerhouse English teams come the 2026–27 season. Since the 2022–23 season, Wrexham has been promoted every year under manager Phil Parkinson, first from the National League to League Two, then from the latter to League One — and next, in the 2025–26 season, they'll play in the Championship League, aiming to get promoted to the top-tier Premier League from there.
If you can't make it to Wrexham's two Australian matches or one NZ game, they're being streamed via Paramount+. And for something to watch in the interim, check out trailer for Welcome to Wrexham season four below:
Wrexham Down Under 2025 Fixtures
Friday, July 11 — Melbourne Victory vs Wrexham AFC at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, from 7.30pm AEST
Tuesday, July 15 — Sydney FC vs Wrexham AFC at Allianz Stadium, Melbourne, from 7.30pm AEST
Saturday, July 19 — Wellington Phoenix vs Wrexham AFC at Sky Stadium, Wellington, from 5pm NZST
Wrexham's Down Under tour is taking place in July 2025. For more information, head to the Wrexham website — and for tickets, visit Ticketek in Australia and New Zealand.
Welcome to Wrexham streams via Disney+, with season four arriving from Friday, May 16, 2025.
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