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Wrexham's journey has been ‘unimaginable'. As they roll into Melbourne, they're loving every second

Wrexham's journey has been ‘unimaginable'. As they roll into Melbourne, they're loving every second

When Colin Henrys joined Wrexham AFC as a volunteer seven years ago, the Welsh club was languishing in the fifth tier of English soccer.
He could never have imagined where he'd be in 2025: the club's head of media and communications, visiting Australia on Wrexham's first pre-season tour outside the United States, after a record-breaking three consecutive promotions up to the second tier Championship.
'I was just in the right place at the right time,' Henrys said. 'You can't be a volunteer and do it now, it's such an intense job. It's a 24-hour job.'
Things changed for Henrys and the rest of the team at the world's third-oldest professional soccer club when Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 's Rob Mac expressed interest in buying the club, and planned to film a docuseries of the journey to boot.
The team's unprecedented meteoric rise in the years that followed was a recipe for a worldwide sensation; Welcome to Wrexham exploded in popularity. Australia is the third-largest audience for the show behind the UK and US.
'I'm loving absolutely every second, as I'm sure the rest of the lads are,' Wrexham captain James McLean said. 'When you're riding the crest of the wave ... you just go along. Where the club has gone in the last few years, it's been unimaginable, I'm guessing even for the owners and everyone involved. It's probably exceeded their wildest expectations.'
Henrys said while on the Down Under tour – in which the Red Dragons will take on Melbourne Victory at Marvel Stadium on Friday July 11 before going up against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on July 15 – he had been taking calls from the UK at bedtime before waking up to emails from the US.
'There's interest from all over the world,' he said. 'You can always tell when the documentary is launched in different parts … you suddenly get a flurry of emails.'
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