The summer of soccer continues — that is the tagline Wrexham are adopting for a tour to build on the men’s World Cup, as well as the club’s strong North American links.
Tampa, New York and Philadelphia will host Phil Parkinson’s side, who flew across the Atlantic on Wednesday for a trip featuring a trio of friendlies against Premier League opposition — Leeds United, Liverpool and Sunderland.
As with the club’s two previous jaunts to the United States in 2024 and 2025, an assortment of characters familiar to viewers of Welcome to Wrexham will also be heading to the east coast, including Wayne Jones, the ever-popular landlord of The Turf pub, plus former promotion heroes Steven Fletcher, Ben Tozer and Ben Foster.
A kit launch at NASDAQ, the second-largest stock exchange in the world, will include images of the new home shirt being beamed around Times Square, along with a red carpet event in Brooklyn on the eve of Wrexham playing at Yankee Stadium, further underlining the global reach of a club owned by Hollywood stars Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds.
“Everyone is very excited for the tour,” says Rob Faulkner, Wrexham’s chief business and communications officer. “Wrexham has built a loyal fanbase in North America and this is a great way of staying connected.
“The intention is to continue a wonderful summer of football. The World Cup was brilliant, all those full stadiums and great matches. Now there’s a chance to enjoy even more in cities that weren’t a World Cup host venue.”
Wrexham will become one of the few football teams to play at the iconic Yankee Stadium (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
“The planning began a year ago, when we were on tour in Australia and New Zealand, and the question asked was whether the market would be saturated following the biggest football tournament globally.
“But the feeling is there’s plenty of room for both. Especially in the towns and cities where people were caught up in World Cup fever but could not attend games. What a perfect time to bring Wrexham here after we visited the west coast in 2024.”
Wrexham are certainly arriving at an opportune time. Football is booming in the States on the back of a World Cup that saw fans flock to games.
In total, 6,810,966 fans watched the expanded 104-game format across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, creating an average attendance of 65,490, the second highest of all time behind USA 94.
Tapping further into a market that has already proved lucrative — 57.7 per cent of Wrexham’s annual turnover of £33million ($44m) in the 2024-25 League One promotion season came from outside Europe and the United Kingdom, with North America the key driver — can only help those well-stated Premier League ambitions of the club’s owners.
Likewise, strengthening further the bond with an American fanbase initially drawn in by watching the documentary, which, in April, was renewed for another three years until 2029.
Paul McCord, a former NFL coach with a Super Bowl title to his name, lives in Tampa with his wife Mindy and son LJ, and is eagerly looking forward to Saturday’s tour opener against Leeds at Raymond James Stadium.
Paul McCord and family on one of their trips from the U.S. to Wrexham (Richard Sutcliffe/The Athletic)
Having visited north Wales four times, he has made plenty of friends, and he is throwing a party to welcome them to Florida on the eve of the Leeds match.
“The club is the ultimate community get-together,” says McCord, a member of the coaching team who took the Baltimore Ravens to Super Bowl glory in 2001. “The players treat each kid waiting to meet them like their own little brother.
“Mulls (Paul Mullin) made such an impression on LJ (during a post-match kickabout on the 2023 tour) that he took up soccer. We follow the players who have come and gone like family. They’re all special to us.
“My family have travelled to Wrexham three times and I’ve gone once on my own to explore and walk the town. Quite honestly, I feel like I live there, and I would be proud to live there, because of the type of neighbours that we have met over the years.”
Last summer, Wrexham manager Parkinson conducted his press duties in the shadow of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, just a few days after doing similar with the Australian media outside the iconic Flinders Street Station in Melbourne.
There has also been a stroll along Hollywood Boulevard with his players to savour in 2023, even taking time to pose for a photo with Reynolds’ star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, plus visits to Levi’s Stadium and BC Place, World Cup venues in Santa Clara and Vancouver.
But make no mistake — Parkinson and his players value these global tours as a chance to prepare for the upcoming season.
“We are here to work,” says the 58-year-old. “The priority is making sure these games are at the intensity levels we need them to be, as this is a vital period.
“Preparation is key. The details of the training and the travelling have to be right. Everything has to run smoothly or we risk paying the price later.”
With that in mind, Wrexham’s head of football operations, Adam Greaves-Smith, flew out to all three host cities this year. Everything from training facilities to travelling times from the hotels to the stadia were assessed to make sure there are no unwanted surprises for the squad on arrival.
In contrast to last year’s tour in the Southern Hemisphere winter, temperatures are expected to be above 30C (86F).
Training has been adapted, with early morning and evening sessions scheduled. Wrexham will also stay in Florida for longer than is usual on these tours to take advantage of the excellent training facilities, only flying up to New York the day before the Liverpool match.
Logistical lessons have been learned from previous tours, particularly the first trip to the U.S. that saw Wrexham rack up the air miles by criss-crossing the country for fixtures in North Carolina, Los Angeles, San Diego and Philadelphia.
Wrexham head coach Phil Parkinson with co-owner Rob Mac during the club’s 2024 tour (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
The extensive travelling and Wrexham’s late return to the UK — less than a week before the 2023-24 League Two season kicked off — were seen as contributory factors to an opening-day 5-3 loss against Milton Keynes Dons.
A similar problem has emerged, thanks in part to the two-week gap between the first competitive games for Premier League sides and those in the divisions below. Wrexham travel to Middlesbrough on Friday, August 7 for a Carabao Cup first-round tie that has been brought forward to be shown live on Sky Sports and ITV. The Premier League kicks off on August 21.
With the final tour game against Sunderland taking place on August 2, Parkinson and his players won’t be back in the UK until the Monday morning (August 3) — leaving under five days to prepare.
It’s not an ideal situation, though Parkinson rarely prioritises the early rounds of the Carabao Cup anyway. He made 11 changes for last year’s first-round tie against Hull City, which Wrexham won on penalties.
“Commercially, these trips are so important,” says Parkinson, whose side start their Championship campaign two days after most of their peers thanks to the trip to Cardiff City being chosen for live broadcast on Monday, August 17.
“So, we decided to use our Carabao Cup tie almost as if it is our last pre-season friendly. Everyone is in agreement.”
What won’t be compromised on the tour of the U.S. is the recruitment operation. If anything, this area has proved to be enhanced on previous tours, with key decision-makers Parkinson, chief executive Michael Williamson and director Shaun Harvey all in the same place.
It was a similar story last summer when the time difference back home to Australia and New Zealand ranged between nine and 11 hours, meaning prospective targets and agents were just getting up as the Wrexham party should have been going to bed.
“My sleep pattern never quite got where it should have been after operating almost on UK time in Australia,” adds Parkinson. “I was on the team coach to training a few times and almost falling asleep.
“But there were big benefits — we had everyone together who was involved in transfers. We were continually reviewing signings as a staff. We got a lot done out there in Australia, formulating the squad.”
After finishing seventh in the Championship last season, the club’s highest placing, Wrexham won’t be repeating the 13 signings made last summer in an attempt to bridge the considerable gap in quality from League One, 11 of whom arrived after the tour Down Under had ended.
Sam Smith and Wrexham fell just short in their battle for a play-off place last season (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Instead, the core of the squad is already in place, with Parkinson targeting certain key areas.
“It’s nice to take away what is effectively a new squad this time,” he adds. “Most of last summer’s signings missed the Australia trip so this will be their first time. They will get to see just how popular Wrexham are in America.
“I’ve come back from previous tours and tried to explain to people about what we’d seen and experienced. Until you see it for yourself, it’s hard to get a handle on.”
Chief business and communications officer Faulkner, who alongside CEO Williamson met tour agent TEG Sports in Melbourne for dinner a year ago to start planning the 2026 tour, is equally excited.
“I had a taster last year in Australia and New Zealand,” says the former UEFA and Inter executive who joined Wrexham in October 2024. “We were playing local teams and yet the crowd was split at least 50-50 in all three games.
“In New Zealand, we probably had more than 50 per cent of the crowd against Wellington Phoenix. Most had the shirt on, they all wanted to meet Wayne from The Turf and the players.
“Then, the next thing you know, someone you met on the other side of the world is suddenly walking towards you in Wrexham, having got really engaged with the club at a pre-season friendly. Amazing.
“It’s why these tours are so important, especially with the new stand going up and an extra 7,500 seats being available after the coming season. Once that happens, we will have capacity to finally start to satisfy the strong demand, both internationally and locally.”
