The incredible global audience for tonight’s Wrexham FA Cup replay

It would be an understatement to say that Wrexham have been revitalised under Hollywood owners – Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.

The National League side visit Sheffield United this evening as the lowest ranked side left in this season’s FA Cup.

The Dragons will secure a lucrative fifth-round home tie with Tottenham if they score a famous victory in the replay at Bramall Lane.

While Wrexhan have sold their allocation of 4,500 tickets for tonight’s tie, there will also be a global audience of millions tuning in as interest in the club continues to grow.

The huge success of the Welcome To Wrexham docu-series and the headline hitting antics of Hollywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds effect is the gift that keeps on giving – as this astonishing list of countries that will screen tonight’s FA Cup replay ably proves.

With more than 75 countries broadcasting the tie there are not too many parts of the planet that won’t be showing the game.

Wrexham were starting a 12th season in the fifth tier of English football when Reynolds and McElhenney announced their intention to buy Wales’ oldest club in September 2020. Deadpool actor Reynolds – one of Hollywood’s biggest stars – and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator McElhenney completed their £2million takeover from the Wrexham Supporters Trust the following February and life in north Wales has never been the same since.

Heavy investment has transformed Wrexham from National League stragglers into serious promotion contenders. The Dragons lost a semi-final play-off to Grimsby last season after finishing runners-up to Stockport. They are currently battling with Notts County for the one automatic-promotion spot, three points behind the Magpies but with two games in hand, and dreaming of FA Cup glory.

The fly-on-the-wall ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary aired on American TV channel FX last year and introduced the club – owners, management, players and fans – to an international audience. The show was warmly received and Wrexham’s profile is now so great that their FA Cup tie against Sheffield United was the most followed football game that day across ESPN’s website and digital platforms in the US.