The remarkable rise of Wrexham AFC has shown how investment, storytelling and a genuine connection with the local community can introduce a Welsh club to a huge new audience in the United States. Before Welcome to Wrexham, many Americans may have known very little about the club or the city. Today, Wrexham have developed a substantial following across the Atlantic, attracted major American commercial partners and helped introduce new supporters to Welsh culture and British football. That made me wonder whether something similar could happen within the Welsh domestic league. Clubs such as The New Saints regularly represent the Cymru Premier in UEFA competition. TNS also became the first club from the Welsh domestic system to reach the league phase of a major UEFA competition and recorded a historic victory over Astana during the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League. Imagine, purely as a discussion point, if a major American musician, actor or business figure—someone with the profile of Dr Dre or Eminem—purchased or invested heavily in a Cymru Premier club. Could a combination of ambitious investment, improved facilities, stronger marketing, high-quality storytelling and carefully recruited talent make the Welsh domestic game more attractive to American supporters? Could the opportunity to follow a smaller club attempting to reach the UEFA Champions League, Europa League or Conference League provide a unique selling point? Wrexham’s journey has been built around much more than simply buying players. The documentary has highlighted the people, history, humour and community surrounding the club. Would an investor need to take the same approach in the Welsh domestic game and protect the club’s identity rather than attempting to manufacture something artificial? There are also important concerns to consider: Would major investment improve the entire league or simply allow one club to dominate? Could smaller clubs cope financially with a sudden increase in wages and expectations? Would signing famous or expensive players damage opportunities for Welsh talent? Could the money instead be used more sustainably for stadiums, academies, broadcasting, community programmes and full-time employment? I am not suggesting that Welsh football should attempt to copy Saudi Arabia or spend irresponsibly. I am interested in whether carefully managed American investment—combined with authentic storytelling—could raise standards and introduce the Cymru Premier to a much wider international audience. To American supporters: would you follow a Welsh domestic club if its story, European journey and community were presented properly? Would the possibility of seeing that club progress from a small Welsh league into UEFA competition capture your imagination, or was Wrexham’s success a unique situation that would be difficult to repeat? I would genuinely welcome opinions from both sides of the discussion.
No because Wrexham along with Cardiff, Swansea and Newport play in the English League system which is the most attended on the planet, these tend to be the largest towns in Wales and none are particularly 'large' in a global scale (Cardiff is the largest 'city' in Wales and it only has 360'000 people in it). Wales is a VERY small place with a very small population, the 'average' attendance of the Welsh league is 458, its 458 because the clubs hail from small conurbations. With regards to Wrexham itself it may have already reached its ceiling - getting Hollywood money pumped into it obviously gives Wrexham a HUGE advantage against similar sized clubs but now they are in the 2nd tier they are starting to come up against other clubs with similar resources. of course the beauty of the pro/rel system in England means that small town clubs can and sometimes do break into the top flight - Burnley is a town of only 80'000 people but I think Mr Reynolds and Mr McElhenney will have to have VERY VERY deep pockets to turn Wrexham into the next Manchester United or Spurs.
That is a fair point, and Wrexham’s rise has certainly been helped by playing within the English pyramid, where the commercial opportunities, attendances and worldwide exposure are significantly greater. However, that also highlights why Welsh domestic football deserves more attention and investment. Most Cymru Premier clubs represent small towns and communities, so judging them purely on attendance figures does not tell the full story. These clubs operate with far smaller resources, yet they still provide local football, develop Welsh players and compete for places in European competition. The New Saints are a strong example. They may not have Wrexham’s Hollywood ownership or the same-sized fanbase, but they have built a professional, successful club capable of representing Welsh football in Europe. Their recent documentary, The New Saints: Road to Europe – The Mike Harris Story, shows the work, ambition and personal sacrifice behind that journey. Perhaps Welsh domestic football does not need to create the next Manchester United or Tottenham. Its opportunity is to tell its own stories better, attract new supporters and investment, and show that clubs from small Welsh communities can still dream big, compete in Europe and achieve something remarkable.
I’d keep an eye on it if the league was made accessible to watch. I’m not a level snob, though. Might be a hard sell to all the fans here who when they talk about their love of European soccer are only talking about the Premier League and Champions League contenders.
I agree with a lot of what you say about the Welsh league, unfortunately though I just don't think Wales is big enough to support clubs to rival the clubs in Europes 'big leagues'. Cardiff and Swansea have been the 'traditional' powers in Welsh football Wrexham and Newport make up the other two. Wales is just a very small country that simply doesn't have the numbers to support more than a handful of 'big' clubs. The New Saints can be historical, they can be successful (they are both of those things) but they cannot support a 60'000 seat stadium while playing in the Welsh league. Its kind of a problem with Scotland as well - obviously Celtic and Rangers get big crowds but they are big fish in a small pond, there just isn't the numbers in Scotland to have a league full of Celtic and Rangers sized clubs - you will often here the argument that both Celtic and Rangers would benefit if they played in the English league (it is however something neither the Scots or English want).
I agree with much of that. Wales is a small country, and it would be unrealistic to expect the Cymru Premier to suddenly produce several clubs with 60,000-seat stadiums or the financial power of Europe’s biggest leagues. However, I don’t think that needs to be the measure of success. The goal should be sustainable growth: better facilities, stronger attendances, improved commercial income, more competitive European performances and greater national interest in the domestic game. The New Saints do not need to become Manchester United, Celtic or Rangers to make a meaningful impact. If they—and other Welsh clubs—can attract more supporters, progress further in Europe and raise the overall standard of the league, that would still be a major achievement. Wales may only be able to support a handful of genuinely large professional clubs, but there is still room for the domestic league to become stronger, more visible and more respected than it is today.
That’s completely fair, although accessibility is improving considerably. Sgorio already shows selected Cymru Premier matches live through S4C, S4C Clic, BBC iPlayer and the Sgorio and S4C YouTube channels, with both Welsh and English commentary available. The major change comes in the 2026/27 season with the FAW’s new Cymru Football TV platform. It will show all 276 regular-season Cymru Premier fixtures live, plus the play-offs, rather than only a selection of around 34 matches. A season pass costs £99.99, with monthly and individual-match options also available. The FAW has also said that a separate free-to-air broadcast agreement will be announced. It will undoubtedly remain a hard sell to supporters who only associate European football with the Premier League and Champions League giants. However, making every match available at least gives curious supporters the opportunity to choose a club, follow its season properly and discover that football does not have to be played at the very highest level to be entertaining.
I agree, there is nothing wrong with trying to grow the domestic league, to make it stronger, more respected (though I don't think you need to be the size of Inter Milan to garner respect). Unfortunately I just don't think there is the demographics to produce a league in Wales comparable to lets say the Bundesleague. In a way the Welsh league is probably suffering the same way as the German, French and Scottish leagues ie not competitive enough within the league - TNS are pretty dominant in Wales I think? I believe that one team domination is probably more damaging to a league than anything else.
I agree that Wales is never going to produce a league comparable in size or revenue to the Bundesliga, but I do not believe population alone should limit its potential. Uruguay has a population only slightly larger than Wales, yet it has built a respected football culture, produced world-class players and developed clubs with international recognition. That does not mean Wales can simply copy Uruguay, but it shows that smaller nations can achieve far more when football is properly invested in, promoted and embedded within the national culture. TNS have undoubtedly been dominant, and greater competition would benefit the Cymru Premier. However, the answer should not be to hold TNS back—it should be to help other clubs improve their facilities, academies, marketing, community connections and commercial income. The league does not need to become one of Europe’s biggest. It needs to become stronger, better supported and more visible than it is today. That is why projects such as The New Saints: Road to Europe – The Mike Harris Story are important. The documentary has introduced new audiences to TNS, the Cymru Premier and the reality of running a professional club within Welsh domestic football. Investment creates progress, but promotion and storytelling give people a reason to care. The potential is there. Welsh football simply needs more people willing to invest in it, promote it and believe in it. ⚽
It probably helps that Uruguay doesn't have its biggest clubs in its biggest cities playing in a neighboring country's league system, leaving a smaller fraction of the population in smaller communities available to support the domestic league.
That is a fair point, and the circumstances are certainly different. Wales has several of its largest and best-supported clubs competing in the English pyramid, which naturally reduces the population, media attention and commercial support available to the domestic league. However, that is also why strengthening the Cymru Premier matters. With better broadcasting, storytelling, facilities and investment, clubs such as The New Saints can help build greater interest in Welsh domestic football and give communities across Wales and the border region something successful to support. It may never follow exactly the same model as Uruguay, but there is still significant potential for growth.
Americans who invest in European Clubs are mainly looking for: Distressed assets. Rob and Ryan bought Wrexham for ~£2M. They put some money into it and grew their investment's value. Wrexham already had supporters, a stadium, a team, training location. etc. Compare that to starting a team in the US? £2M doesn't get you to the driveway. USL teams cost at minimum $10M just to get in, and that's before you have to find a place to play, sign players, find a place to practice, etc. You want in MLS? You're looking at a buy in price at greater than $500M. That's just to get in, and doesn't include the stadium, academy setup, training facility, players, coaches, etc. Add all of that in and you're easily looking at greater than $1B in startup costs. Buying established clubs in other parts of the world.... investors can easily flip those in a few years for a nice profit. That's why Americans are buying clubs in Europe, same with Private Equity.
No I don't think Rob and Ryan's Wrexham project will create a gold rush of American investment in the Welsh Pyramid. It's just too small. We're talking semi-pro level. I'm not knocking it, I actually watched Bangor City at the old Farrar Road when they were in the Welsh Prem, but the level's to low to make an impression. It would be like asking an English fan who likes the NFL to follow D2 College football. And Wrexham aren't part of the pyramid, and the top of the pyramid is a really low level. So don't really see any investment. But I do think the Welsh prem can and ride the wave of popularity a little bit though. Especially the ones in North Wales. "Welcome to Wrexham" has introduced millions of people to the beauty of North Wales so there's a chance to get a little more attention for the clubs there. Not much but when we're talking triple digit attendance anything helps. If I were a Cyrmu Prem side I would be trying to find ways to tie in with Wrexham. But I'm not sure that'll happen because lower division football is incredibly tribal. And there is still bad blood between the clubs in the Welsh System and the ones who stayed in the English one. One area there might be a chance for growth is in the Women's game. Wrexham's women's team are in the Welsh Pyramid and Blake Lively's coffee company sponsors them. So maybe some American investors are interested because on the Women's side you are directly connected to Wrexham. But even if they did it would be small potatoes, or since it's Wales, small leeks.
That said, I have a track record of "teams I selected in football manager" doing well - Wrexham, Estoril, Cosenza. Get your Llandudno season tix now so you can't be accused of jumping on the bandwagon....waiting on Almere City and Athlone Town to pick up also...
Ahh Llandudno, that place feels like it's straight out of a WW1 period drama where the veteran is back from the trenches getting flashbacks as he walks down the seaside promenade. Seriously a place that time forgot.
Do you think it would help if the Welsh 'giants' ie Swansea, Cardiff and perhaps the 'new' Wrexham quit the English league and transferred to the Welsh league?
I think Wales has a 'respected' football culture but Wales is a rugby nation moreso isn't it? Talking of Uruguay what does their league look like, to be honest I couldn't tell you, is it a well supported league? If Uruguay has a population only slightly larger than Wales then perhaps the league itself may be closer to the Welsh league than the Premier League. I wonder what the largest club in Uruguay pulls as an attendance compared to the largest (Cardiff City?) club in Wales?