Are Wrexham playing Birmingham City in USA? Ryan Reynolds responds to reports of EFL game vs. Tom Brady team in United States

Are Wrexham playing Birmingham City in USA? Ryan Reynolds responds to reports of EFL game vs. Tom Brady team in United States

Wrexham's global popularity continues to grow in their "Hollywood" era.

The Welsh club were bought by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in November 2020, and the pair have since set about bankrolling a journey through English football towards the promised land of the Premier League.

After falling short of promotion from the National League in 2022, Wrexham stormed to promotion a year later to rejoin the English Football League. By the end of 2023/24, Wrexham had cause to celebrate again, having finished second in League Two.

It means they will be playing in League One in 2024/25 — a division just two below the Premier League and one featuring plenty of high-profile clubs, including Birmingham City, a club part-owned by legendary quarterback Tom Brady.

The two games between those clubs are likely to generate plenty of interest in the coming season. So much so, in fact, that there has been talk of moving one of them to U.S. soil, in what would be an unprecedented — and not exactly popular — scheduling decision.

The Sporting News explains what's going on, and what one half of Wrexham's famous ownership duo has had to say.

MORE: The huge sums Wrexham had to spend to win promotion to the EFL

Are Wrexham playing Birmingham City in USA?

The Daily Mail published a story on June 24, 2024, in which it was claimed that Birmingham City had asked EFL executives if they could move their league match with Wrexham to the United States.

The idea was floated due to the obvious interest in both teams for an American audience, plus the EFL's recent commitment to expanding its U.S. coverage. The same newspaper reported earlier in 2024 that the EFL had earned an increase of 40 per cent in overseas broadcast payments, part of which was attributed to the impact of the Wrexham takeover and the Welcome to Wrexham docuseries.

However, the Mail said that Birmingham's idea had been "swiftly declined" by league bosses. This came as welcome news to fans of both clubs in the UK, many of whom had been aghast at the idea of a league match being staged at an overseas venue.

Wrexham already spend much of preseason in the United States — in the summer of 2024, they are embarking on a tour of the west coast — and the players and staff celebrated promotion with a trip to Las Vegas.

MORE: Welcome To Wrexham season 3 review

What has Ryan Reynolds said about the Birmingham match?

Reynolds responded publicly to the idea of the Birmingham match taking place in the U.S. — and he made it clear he was not in favour.

A user on social medial platform X responded to a post about the story claiming the move would go against "every single one of the 'guiding principles' you stated publicly before buying the club". The user, whose bio suggested they were a Wrexham fan, added: "Let's not start getting too greedy and breaking promises" before tagging both Reynolds and McElhenney.

Reynolds posted a short response, saying: "I agree. And that's why there have been no talks." The user replied: "Thank you for clearing it up. Maybe I should have a little more faith in you both!"

When is Wrexham vs. Birmingham City match?

The dates of the two League One games between Wrexham and Birmingham are as yet unknown.

The EFL will release the fixture schedule for the Championship, League One, and League Two on Wednesday, June 26 at 9 a.m. BST (4 a.m. ET).

How to watch Welcome to Wrexham Season 3

The full third season of Welcome to Wrexham is now available to watch in full.

In the United States, new episodes of Welcome to Wrexham were made available to watch live every Thursday evening on FX, which can be streamed on Fubo, who are offering a free trial for new users. The show can also be streamed on Hulu on demand.

Elsewhere, Welcome to Wrexham can be streamed globally in other countries on Disney+ where available.