Former West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand says Wrexham‘s rise under Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has helped increase awareness and interest in English lower-league football in the United States.
Ferdinand, 40, now a club ambassador for West Ham, told AFP that the club’s journey has “opened people’s eyes across the pond on such a great league.”
Wrexham have enjoyed a dramatic rise since the 2021 takeover, when Reynolds and McElhenney purchased the Wales-based club for around £2 million ($2.7 million). They have since earned three consecutive promotions.
Ferdinand praised the effect of the story: “It’s helped lift the bonnet on lower-league English football.”
He’s followed football in the U.S. since West Ham played in the 2008 MLS All-Star Game against a team featuring David Beckham, and he sees the growing U.S. interest as a long-term development.
He also pointed to CBS Sports’ four-year deal to show 250 EFL and League Cup matches each season until 2028 as proof of Wrexham’s influence.