News that two Hollywood stars want to take over Wrexham AFC has been hailed a “potential gamechanger” by the trailer firm that pledged to stick by the club as it battled the massive financial crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic
At the unveiling of this season’s kit in June, Ifor Williams Trailers was announced as the main shirt sponsor for the fifth year running, little knowing that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were waiting in the wings.
At the time things were looking bleak financially because the fan-owned club had lost £250,000 in match day income when the National League ended prematurely.
According to Ifor Williams Trailers, many of their employees are die-hard Wrexham supporters.
The excitement at their four factories in Cynwyd, Corwen, Sandycroft and on Deeside Industrial Estate was, they said, “palpable” after the news broke about the potential involvement of the Hollywood duo who are proposing to plough £2 million in to the club.
Director Carole Williams said: “The decision to sponsor Wrexham AFC was a very personal one for the directors and staff of Ifor Williams Trailers, many of whom are lifelong fans.
“Wrexham is a proper football town and the club has the best fans in the world.
“It attracts loyal support from across North Wales and also from across the world.
“The announcement that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney want to invest money into the club is extremely exciting.
“Like everybody else, we want to hear more about their vision for this treasured and historic club.
“If this is something that the Wrexham fans want to happen and it is ultimately their decision via the Wrexham Supporters Trust, we will be 100 per cent behind the two potential investors who have shown such a promising interest in Wrexham AFC.
“We hope the journey Wrexham will take over the coming weeks and months will be something that the whole community will enjoy.
“The amazing news has come at a time when we can all do with a lift because of the coronavirus cloud hanging over all of us.
“Let’s hope this is the start of something for everyone to look forward to.”
“I have already received excited feedback from our world-wide distribution network, who have picked up this ray of sunshine and contacted me straight away. They’re all very enthusiastic after hearing that a little bit of Hollywood magic is touching North Wales.”
Production operative Matt Smith, 22, from Brymbo, near Wrexham, was in seventh heaven after hearing about the proposed bid by the Hollywood stars.
Matt said: “I must confess I thought it was April the 1st when I heard this amazing news. It has the potential to be a gamechanger by helping us achieve the Holy Grail of getting back into the Football League,
“I’m still having to pinch myself. I went to my first match with my grandad when I was 10. The atmosphere was brilliant and we beat Boston 3-1 to stay in the Football League.
“I started going to the home games with my grandad over the following few seasons and then started going with my mates to the away games. For the past few seasons we’ve been to pretty much every home and away game.
“I was lucky to be involved in the launch of Wrexham’s kit for the coming season and as a Wrexham fan I thought that was about as good as it gets.
“We obviously need to hear more about their plans and their vision for the club but this is just incredible.
Equally thrilled was fellow fan Ellie Roberts, 21, from Cynwyd, who works in the despatch department in Corwen.
She said: “It always makes me feel very proud to see the Ifor Williams Trailers logo on the front of the shirt and I was so pleased to hear earlier this year that the company was continuing with its support for the club.
“The support of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney can potentially take Wrexham up back to where we belong in the Football League and who knows what else we might be able to achieve with their enthusiasm and financial clout.”
It was also a red letter day for Wrexham fan Richard Hughes, the Human Resources Manager at Ifor Williams Trailers.
He said: “We have a lot of die-hard Wrexham AFC fans working at Ifor Williams Trailers, including season ticket holders and Wrexham Supporters’ Trust members and the excitement around the company is palpable.
“The club has going through an extremely difficult time because of the pandemic and the lost match-day income has been a big blow so the timing of this jaw-dropping announcement is very timely.
“The reason we reaffirmed our commitment to the club in these uncertain times was that Wrexham is a community-based club and its ethos is a great match for our values at Ifor Williams Trailers.
“The club has a brilliant track record for youth sport with the boys and girls teams, and also for disabled football, which is another reason we are proud to partner the club again this year.
“I suspect the fact that Wrexham is such an inclusive club, may also have been a key element in making the club such an attractive prospect for Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.”
