How 'Wrexham effect' is transforming non-league football
Earlier this month, former England striker Andy Carroll signed for National League South side Dagenham & Redbridge on the same day the club announced a Qatari takeover from their American owners.
Two National League North outfits last year received funding from overseas, with King's Lynn Town securing cash from Singapore and a 15-person consortium of Los Angeles-based investors putting their money into Telford United.
Elliot Stroud runs a website for people looking to invest in football clubs. Within a year of launching his company in 2023, he created a separate portal purely for non-league clubs, which now occupy 70% of his time. The reason, he says, is Reynolds, McElhenney and their Welcome to Wrexham TV show.
"People saying they want to 'do a Wrexham' has become a bit of a term," admits Stroud. "It's definitely had an impact.
"It's amazing how many potential investors I speak to who just want to talk about the show, how realistic it is to do what they've done, and how much money it will take. It very, very often comes up in conversation."
At Real Bedford, McCormack's ambition of taking the club from the 10th tier to the Premier League has begun with three comprehensive title wins. Continue at this rate and his side might one day meet Wrexham in the upper reaches of English football.
"Our club is unstoppable with what we want to do," he says.
"Football disruption is great. The downstream benefit is the expansion of football itself. It's new energy.
"Wrexham, as a town, has been transformed by Ryan Reynolds and I love it. Hopefully we are going to transform Bedford - the Wrexham thing has been great for everyone."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick left unimpressed with India's tactics
England engaged in another day of angry on-field exchanges in their decisive fifth Test against India, with the tourists openly targeting Joe Root and assistant coach Marcus Trescothick taking a dim view of the opposition's antics. There have been several fractious moments between the teams since a time-wasting row at Lord's lit the blue touch paper and there were another three to add to the list on a box office second day at the Kia Oval. There were 342 runs and 15 wickets in total, with India ending up with a 52-run lead at 75 for two in their second innings. But the post-match debates lingered on the latest batch of flashpoints. Root was visibly riled by something that was said to him by Prasidh Krishna, shouting indignantly at the seamer before the umpires moved to warn India about their behaviour. Ben Duckett was at the centre of two incidents, the second of which appeared to involve him enraging Sai Sudharsan following his late dismissal. Earlier, having been picked up on stump microphones telling Akash Deep 'you can't get me out', he went on to be dismissed by the pace bowler and received an unusual send-off. Deep put his arm over the opener's shoulders as he walked towards the pavilion and grinned as he offered some unsolicited farewell words. 'There is no need to walk him off in that fashion. Your job is done at that point,' said Trescothick, England's assistant coach. 'I don't think I've ever seen a bowler do that after getting someone out. It was strange really.' Television cameras had picked up Trescothick making some animated gestures in the dressing room and he explained: 'We were chatting on the balcony. Many in my time would have just dropped the elbow on him or something quite different. I was just laughing and joking about it.' As for Root's uncharacteristic tirade, Trescothick added: 'I think they made a comment didn't they? He (Krishna) tried to get after him and spark him up a little bit. Joe's normally the kind of guy who laughs and giggles and allows things to happen, but today he chose a different route. Today Joe bit back.' Krishna admitted it was part of a deliberate ploy to unsettle England's best batter, but insisted nothing untoward had been said. 'That was the plan, but I didn't really expect the couple of words that I said to get such a big reaction from him,' he said. 'It was a very small thing. I think it was just a competitive edge amongst us that was coming out. But I love the guy that he is, he's a legend of the game.' Former England captain Sir Alastair Cook told BBC's Test Match the tactic may have been a smart one and predicted more of the same as the game moves towards its conclusion. 'Why wouldn't you try to upset Joe Root? His record against India is superb,' he said. 'You can say that it did work because Joe only got 29 when he normally averages 60 against them, so it's a success. Fair play to Krishna. I hope it didn't cross that line and was good old honest sledging. It definitely got Joe Root out of his bubble. 'We're in for some more fireworks. It's not going away for the next three days.'
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Tom Lockyer close to football return after suffering cardiac arrest on the pitch
Former Luton captain Tom Lockyer has revealed he is 'four weeks away' from being allowed to play football again. Lockyer has not played since suffering a cardiac arrest during Luton's Premier League game against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium in December 2023. The 30-year-old Wales defender had previously collapsed on the field just seven months earlier during the Hatters' Sky Bet Championship play-off final win at Wembley against Coventry. Lockyer, speaking ahead of Luton's opening Sky Bet League One fixture against AFC Wimbledon at Kenilworth Road, told Sky Sports: 'I haven't had a break, I've been working all the way through, just trying to get this ankle right and trying to get fit. 'But I've had a really good few weeks and hopefully now I'm four weeks away from getting signed off and told I'm allowed to play football again.' Luton, relegated in May for the second successive season, told Lockyer his contract would not be renewed when it expired this summer. But they have allowed him to use their facilities and work with their physios and medical staff during his rehabilitation. The former Bristol Rovers centre-back, who led Luton to Premier League promotion in 2023, added: 'They've been fantastic and have allowed me to come in and use the facilities and the knowledge of all the physios, so I can't thank them enough for that. 'It allows me to stay among the team spirit – there's a good one here. There's been a few changes, but they're trying to hold on to that ethos that no-one is bigger than the team and I absolutely love that. 'It's allowed me to go in every day, still be around it, still feel involved and I'm just itching to get back now.' Lockyer, who has had a defibrillator fitted similar to former Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen, snapped an ankle ligament during his return to full fitness, which required two operations.
The Sun
8 minutes ago
- The Sun
Full list of jobs that qualify for Blue Light Card – with savings of £800 a year including at Asda and Starbucks
MILLIONS of workers can get access to discounts of up to £800 a year thanks to the Blue Light Card. The discount scheme was set up in 2008 to reward "Blue Light" and public sector workers with discounts from a number of retailers, including Apple, Asda and Domino's. Card members can save an average of over £800 per year, based on an average saving of £70 monthly on groceries and other everyday essentials. You can use it to get discounts on clothes, holidays, insurance and even cars, and it can be used to across thousands of restaurants, shops and venues. There are around 15,000 discounts to choose from. It's typically available to NHS staff, emergency services, social care workers, and armed forces personnel. However, the scheme was extended last year to teachers, leading to thousands more signing up for an account. Primary and secondary school teachers are eligible, as well as those as Sixth Form colleges and Special Schools. Staff that work in higher education are not currently included in the scheme. When it was announced the scheme would be extended to teachers last year, the website and app crashed due to "unprecedented demand" on the system. If you're eligible for the card, you can get a digital one for free or it costs £4.99 for a physical card, which lasts two years. You can use the digital card by downloading the Blue Light Card app via Google Play or the App Store. It also has a interactive map feature to help you find local discounts closest to your chosen location. Who is eligible for the card? Anyone in the following roles is eligible for the card: Ambulance service Blood bikes Fire service Highways traffic officers HM armed forces HM armed forces veteran HM coastguard HM prison and probation service Home Office (Borders and Immigration) Independent lifeboats MoD civil servant MoD fire service MoD police NHS NHS Dental Practice Pharmacy Police Red cross Reserved army forces RNLI Search and rescue Social care St Andrews ambulance St John ambulance Teachers excluding higher education staff How to register for a Blue Light Card To be eligible for a Blue Light Card, you' ll need to prove your profession by uploading a form of valid ID or recent payslip. To sign up, just head to the Blue Light Card website where you'll have to fill out a form. Bear in mind, you'll be asked a couple of questions, for example, about your job title and where you work. The retailers that participate in the Blue Light Card scheme can change regularly, meaning there isn't a comprehensive list of stores you can use it at. So it's worth checking whether the discount is valid on the store website if you're shopping online, or asking a member of staff when at the till in-store - the worst they can say is no. Some of the current participating brands include: Apple Hotpoint JD Sports Toby Carvery New Look Odeon Ray Ban Abercrombie & Fitch Samsung Starbucks Superdry Cineworld Popeyes Asda Always make sure to shop around for better offers before making a purchase to be sure you're getting the best deal possible. Blue Light Card holders can also make big savings on their holidays with discounts from companies such as Jet2, EasyJet and Expedia. Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@
