'No doubt' Wrexham reach Premier League - CEO

MELBOURNE -- Wrexham main enforcement Michael Williamson has nary uncertainty the Welsh nine tin 1 time scope the heights of the Premier League.

And arsenic it prepares to marque the monolithic leap from League One to the Championship, he's told ESPN that the enlargement of the club's planetary marque done efforts specified arsenic its circuit of Australia and New Zealand volition assistance "future-proof" the nine and guarantee erstwhile it gets to the apical flight, it stays there.

Owned by Hollywood stars Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, who purchased the nine for conscionable £2 cardinal backmost erstwhile they were playing successful the 5th tier of the English pyramid successful 2021, Wrexham made past this play erstwhile it finished 2nd successful League One, earning a spot successful the Championship and making past with back-to-back-to-back promotions.

The English second-tier, however, represents a full caller level of spending and scale. Wrexham's mean assemblage of 12,757 during their League One run successful 2024-25 would person been the third-smallest successful the Championship -- Sunderland, per Transfermarkt, led the league with an mean assemblage of 39,000 -- and relegated Premier League clubs Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton volition person "parachute payments" of £39m ($52.9m).

Few Championship clubs, however, tin lucifer the planetary marque that Wrexham person been capable to physique since the accomplishment of their Hollywood owners and the accumulation of Disney's Welcome to Wrexham documentary.

The club's front-of-shirt sponsor is presently United Airlines and aft touring North America successful their erstwhile 2 preseasons, they onshore Down Under this week up of games against A-League sides Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC, and Wellington Phoenix.

"Going from League Two to League One, I commented, 'Listen, this is League One, it's truly F'ing difficult,'" Williamson told ESPN.

"Now, I'm saying again to the committee and to Rob and Ryan, going from League One to the Championship is simply a immense measurement forward. League Two to League One was a large step. This is simply a precise ample step, precise elephantine step.

"We're playing against clubs that person been conscionable precocious relegated from the Premier League that are sitting connected precise ample parachute payments. It's difficult; it's a important fiscal investment.

"But implicit 50% of our revenues are from planetary sources. So having these types of preseasons but ultimately, conscionable being capable to link and prosecute with our fans done planetary organisation of merchandising, being capable to beryllium disposable for our matches connected streaming and linear channels worldwide. All of that drives that continued maturation and sustainability, due to the fact that that's truly what this is about.

"I person nary uncertainty we tin get astatine Premier League astatine immoderate point, but what I privation to marque definite is that we're future-proofing, truthful that erstwhile we get there, we're capable to enactment there, and that we don't conscionable travel falling crashing backmost down, similar you've seen different clubs do."

Part of this, helium acknowledges, is ensuring that a rapidly expanding planetary fanbase builds a transportation with the nine and the assemblage that surrounds it, arsenic opposed to conscionable its Hollywood owners oregon the Welcome to Wrexham documentary.

"Future-proofing is however we marque definite arsenic a nine that we enactment connected to that planetary instrumentality base, and that we're telling stories and sharing contented that is applicable to them and engaging to them and inactive connects with them," helium said. "That we're truly making definite that we're investing successful knowing who our fans are and being capable to have, astatine a grassroots level, a narration with our fans.

"That's wherefore these tours are captious and portion of that. Because we request to marque definite that the marque is the club, and not conscionable Rob and Ryan and the documentary. I deliberation you're seeing that hap and that's what's been truly breathtaking to spot that grow, arsenic good arsenic the maturation of the occurrence connected the pitch."

Before Wrexham, Williamson spent astir 5 years moving successful Italian shot with Serie A stalwarts Internazionale. The Italian giants were owned by existent Indonesian FA caput Erick Thohir during this period, arsenic good arsenic Chinese businessman Steven Zhang.

And portion thing is yet planned, the worldwide beingness that the Welcome to Wrexham documentary is 1 that Williamson knows volition springiness the Red Dragons opportunities to grow into immoderate of football's fastest-growing markets crossed Asia.

"One of the things that volition germinate is that arsenic the documentary enters into immoderate of those marketplaces, whether it's China, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, that evidently volition let america to not conscionable person a shot presence, but besides to person that marque beingness of the storytelling of the documentary," helium said.

"And certainly, arsenic that goes into those markets, past that's thing we'll proceed to research -- wherever tin we find opportunities to turn the brand, successful Southeast Asia and Asia successful general? I person immoderate beardown connections there, particularly successful Indonesia, which has 280 cardinal imaginable fans."