When Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought Wrexham AFC, they had high hopes for the Welsh club.
Even they couldn’t have predicted the team’s recent success. Since their merger, Wrexham has risen through the English football ranks, and they will return to the Football League in 2023.
Phil Parkinson’s side advanced directly from League Two, and a dominant 3-0 victory over Charlton Athletic on Saturday secured promotion from League One to the Championship.
That means the Welsh club is only one step away from the Premier League, the closest it has been to the top tier since 1982.
The Sporting News explains how far Wrexham has come in recent years and what they need to do to get to the Premier League from here.
Wrexham recent rise closes in on third promotion in three years
Wrexham’s recent rise up the English football pyramid has been nothing short of astonishing.
When Reynolds and McElhenney bought Wrexham in 2020, the club was playing in the National League, the fifth tier of English football, below the EFL in the divisions known as “non-league football.”
Wrexham finished eighth in 2020/21, rising to second in 2021/22, their new owners’ first full season in charge. They narrowly missed promotion when they lost 5-4 in extra time to Grimsby Town in the playoff semifinals.
They received automatic promotion to League Two, the fourth tier, in 2022/23 after winning the National League title, and a second-place finish in League Two the following season earned them another promotion to League One.
The Red Dragons went into their penultimate game against Charlton knowing that a win would give them an unbeatable five-point lead over third-placed Stockport County going into the final round of fixtures.
Oliver Rathbone opened the scoring in the 15th minute, and Sam Smith added a sensational second shortly after. Smith completed his brace in the final 10 minutes, causing scenes of delirium at the Racecourse Ground.
Wrexham’s promotion to the Championship marks the first time in English Football League history that a team has been promoted three times in a row.
List of Wrexham seasons under current ownership
| Season | League | Finish | Result |
| 2020/21 | National League | 8th | — |
| 2021/22 | National League | 2nd | Lost in playoff semi-final |
| 2022/23 | National League | 1st | Promotion to League Two |
| 2023/24 | League Two | 2nd | Promotion to League One |
| 2024/25 | League One | 2nd | Promotion to the Championship |
How soon can Wrexham reach the Premier League?
There are no more divisions between Wrexham and the top tier of the pyramid, the renowned Premier League. Only one more promotion is required to propel them to unthinkable heights in the standings.
To do so automatically, Wrexham must finish in the top two of the table, as they have done in the previous two years. If they are unable to accomplish this, they can still earn the final promotion spot by winning the four-team playoff between the teams finishing third through sixth in the standings.
If they can secure a fourth consecutive promotion to the top flight next season, it will be an unprecedented achievement in English football.
Fulham came close shortly after Mohamed Al Fayed bought the club. They narrowly avoided disaster by finishing 17th in the fourth tier in 1996, narrowly avoiding relegation from the EFL, before making an incredible comeback from there.
The Cottagers advanced to the Premier League after three promotions in five seasons. However, none of those promotions occurred in consecutive seasons; they were promoted from the fourth tier to the third in 1997 after finishing second, from the third tier to the second in 1999, and from the second tier to the top flight in 2001.
