How the ‘Wrexham effect’ is transforming non-league football
A couple of years ago, a magazine article described Peter McCormack as a “budget Ryan Reynolds”.
The comparison had nothing to do with their contrasting professional lives—McCormack, a former advertising executive turned podcaster, and Reynolds, the renowned Hollywood actor. Rather, it stemmed entirely from their involvement in English non-league football.
While Reynolds, alongside fellow movie star investor Rob McElhenney, has famously propelled Wrexham through the leagues following their high-profile takeover in 2020, McCormack boldly set his sights on achieving the same at Real Bedford, a semi-professional club he acquired two years later.
To bolster his ambitions, Bedford native McCormack secured a £3.6m investment last year—the largest seen in non-league football—from Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of a Facebook predecessor and now cryptocurrency billionaires.
It is on this point that McCormack takes issue with the Reynolds parallels.
“My co-owners are worth 10 or 20 times what they [Reynolds and McElhenney] are,” McCormack says mischievously. “Really, Ryan Reynolds is the budget Winklevoss.”
The outspoken McCormack is at the forefront of non-league football’s new wave.
Long considered an unfashionable world of uneven pitches and dilapidated clubhouses, the recent arrival—and subsequent success—of Hollywood figures at Wrexham has injected a dose of glamour into a previously neglected landscape.
Swiftly, this trend has spread across the country.
Peter McCormack wants to take Real Bedford’s men’s team to the Premier League and its women’s team to the Women’s Super League
Previously the sole domain of local businesspeople, growing numbers of clubs are now benefiting from the influence, and substantial financial resources, of celebrities, publicity-seeking entrepreneurs, social media influencers, and foreign investors drawn to the lower tiers of England’s football pyramid, which encompasses everything below the fully professional League Two.
Average weekly attendances across the top four non-league tiers reached an all-time high of 117,586 last season, marking a 43% increase over the past five years and 89% in a decade.
Reynolds and McElhenney are now far from the only famous faces on the scene.
When multi-award-winning rapper Stormzy and former Crystal Palace footballer Wilfried Zaha bought ninth-tier Croydon Athletic in 2023, their motivation was to uplift the London borough in which they both grew up.
The club promptly secured promotion in their first season.
A few hundred miles further north, Westlife member Brian McFadden spoke of aspirations to emulate Reynolds’ path when he and Boyzone singers Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy became the unofficial public faces of National League North club Chorley last year.
Elsewhere, Chesham United’s National League South attendances have almost doubled in the two years since television hit Taskmaster became the club’s shirt sponsor, courtesy of recently appointed club director, and the show’s creator, Alex Horne.
Similarly, Line of Duty actor Vicky McClure and her husband Jonny Owen sponsored then seventh-tier Merthyr Town’s kit through their production company for three seasons from 2021-22. The club’s attendances have nearly tripled since, and they were crowned Southern League Premier South champions last season.
Little Mix pop star Jade Thirlwall became honorary president and shareholder of her local non-league club South Shields in 2020, later sporting the Mariners’ scarf in her debut solo music video. The club reached the sixth tier for the first time in 2023-24.
Stormzy celebrated promotion with AFC Croydon Athletic players after the Combined Counties Premier League South play-off final in 2024
Social media has played a significant role in the surge in popularity.
When a group of teenage friends bought 10th-tier Walton & Hersham six years ago, they branded themselves as “the world’s youngest football club owners” and quickly amassed over a million TikTok followers.
They have since achieved three promotions and established the club’s sister academy in Florida.
“The number of people following non-league football today compared to five years ago is like night and day,” says owner Sartej Tucker.
“From a brand perspective, non-league football is truly on par with League One and Championship clubs. The only difference is the on-field product. The game has been positively glamorized.”
After selling his global influencer marketing agency for a multi-million-pound sum, Harry Hugo sought out non-league clubs within a 25-mile radius of his home and purchased Farnham Town in 2022. They have partnered with various online content creators and experienced consecutive title triumphs to reach the Southern League Premier Division South.
“Initially, there was skepticism and finger-pointing,” he recalls of his foray into non-league football. “But now, I’d say we’re the hottest ticket in town to get five minutes with. This is the greatest hobby in the world.”
Boyband stars Brian McFadden, Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy (left-right) promote Chorley FC and attend events there
The Wrexham effect has also spread far beyond domestic borders, with an increasing number of foreign investors injecting capital into semi-professional clubs.
Earlier this month, former England striker Andy Carroll signed for National League South side Dagenham & Redbridge on the same day the club announced a Qatari takeover from their American owners.
Two National League North clubs received funding from overseas last year, with King’s Lynn Town securing capital from Singapore and a 15-person consortium of Los Angeles-based investors putting their money into Telford United.
Elliot Stroud runs a website for individuals seeking to invest in football clubs. Within a year of launching his company in 2023, he created a separate portal exclusively for non-league clubs, which now occupies 70% of his time. The reason, he says, is Reynolds, McElhenney, and their Welcome to Wrexham TV show.
“The phrase ‘doing a Wrexham’ has become quite common,” Stroud admits. “It’s definitely had an impact.
“It’s amazing how many potential investors I speak to who simply want to discuss the show, how realistic it is to replicate their achievements, and the financial investment required. It very often arises in conversation.”
At Real Bedford, McCormack’s ambition of elevating the club from the 10th tier to the Premier League has begun with three comprehensive title wins. If this trajectory continues, his team may one day face Wrexham in the upper echelons of English football.
“Our club is unstoppable in achieving our goals,” he states.
“Disruption in football is positive. The downstream effect is the expansion of the sport itself. It’s new energy.
“Wrexham, as a town, has been transformed by Ryan Reynolds, and I commend it. Hopefully, we are going to transform Bedford—the Wrexham phenomenon has been beneficial for everyone.”
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