Wrexham's Global Expansion: Australia Tour

First America, now Australia.

Wrexham's bid to go global is just about to take in a new continent.

And, appropriately for the club co-owned by Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, it begins at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on Friday.

With their back-to-back-to-back promotions behind them, it is there where Wrexham kick-off their three-game schedule in the southern hemisphere, taking in fixtures in Melbourne, Sydney and Wellington, New Zealand.

But - as so often the case with the Hollywood-backed club of Reynolds and Rob McElhenney - the 10,000-mile trip is more than just about preparations for a first season at Championship level in 43 years.

So, before their games down under, BBC Sport Wales takes a look at just why Wrexham are in Australia.

Who are Wrexham playing?

Friday, 11 July – Melbourne Victory v Wrexham (Marvel Stadium, Melbourne - 10:30 BST)

Tuesday, 15 July – Sydney FC v Wrexham (Allianz Stadium, Sydney - 10:30 BST)

Saturday, 19 July – Wellington Phoenix v Wrexham (Sky Stadium, Wellington - 06:30 BST)

What's the background?

Although it would have been an absurd thought not so long ago for a side who had spent 15 years in non-league, global summer tours for Wrexham are nothing new.

The past two summers have seen Phil Parkinson's side prepare for a new season by heading to North America, taking on a mixture of local and Premier League sides.

Building on the profile of the club via their celebrity ownership and the accompanying Emmy award-winning documentary, big crowds welcomed Wrexham for games against the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United.

At the time one Wrexham source suggested officials at established clubs had privately admitted envy at how quickly the north Wales side had built up a fanbase in the American marketplace – something underlined by the club's accounts showing more than half of their revenue came from outside the UK.

The trips also allow the club to collaborate with some of their non-UK sponsors, such as front of shirt backers United Airlines.

It may not be the norm for a non-Premier League side to embark on such a summer tour, but very little has been normal for Wrexham since their 2021 Tinseltown takeover.

Why not a return to the States?

A decision was made early on to look at an alternative to the US – with two good, intertwined reasons behind it.

First was the fact the Fifa Club World Cup was being staged in America. With few Premier League sides making the trip because of it, finding suitable opposition would prove difficult while they would also be competing for eyes and media attention.

Playing into that is the start dates for the English Football League (EFL) season. The Premier League does not kick-off until 16 August, a week later than the Championship – meaning the time Parkinson wanted to be away with his side did not quite meet up.

Also, Wrexham had to plan in case they did not make it out of League One with the bottom two levels of the EFL starting even earlier on 2 August.

The club had vowed not to repeat the past mistakes of their first pre-season in the States in 2023. Then they had played games on both the east and west coasts of the country, with their final fixture just seven days before their opening League Two fixture. It was later blamed for the side's slow start to the season.

With a narrow window of opportunity, the club opted against the US - and Australia and New Zealand became options.

Why Australia?

Because the market is there.

McElhenney has previously been quoted as saying the country is the third biggest audience for the globally-screened Welcome to Wrexham series after the US and the UK.

So it should come as little surprise that there is a desire to make the most of that.

"From the very beginning, we wanted to make Wrexham a globally-recognised team, town.

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