Wrexham AFC to play Man United in friendly in San Diego
By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Soccer sensation Wrexham AFC is coming to America. Not just on television screens, but on the pitch.
The fifth-tier Welsh side, which has become a fan favorite since Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought it and launched a documentary series, “Welcome to Wrexham,” will play Manchester United in a friendly on July 25 at 35,000-seat Snapdragon Stadium.
“We hope to become America’s team — sorry,” McElhenney said at news conference Monday, where he shared the dais with Andrew Cole, a former Manchester United player who is now a team ambassador, and former U.S. national team star Landon Donovan, who is co-owner and executive vice president of soccer operations for the San Diego Loyal.
Wrexham will compete in a $1 million, winner-take-all, seven-on-seven tournament in June in Cary, North Carolina. But the match against Manchester United in the United States will be much bigger for many reasons.
“Not bad, not bad,” McElhenney said. “We’ve been very clear from the very beginning that our ultimate goal is to get to the Premier League, which a lot of people laughed at, but I don’t think they’re laughing at us much now. The truth is, the system is in place for that very thing to happen.”
“We had hoped that at some point we’d be playing Manchester United in the Premier League. We didn’t realize it would be in three years. Obviously this is a friendly. We had hoped that maybe in eight to 10 years time we’d actually be playing with you guys,” McIlhenney said to Cole.
McElhenney said Wrexham will play other friendlies while in the United States with specific details to come.
The match will be part of Manchester United’s summer tour of the United States. A youth-focused team drawn from its traveling squad, supplemented by academy prospects, will face Wrexham AFC as part of a week-long training camp in San Diego.
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