What is Wrexham’s league? Explaining when Ryan Reynolds’ club can get promoted to Premier League

Wrexham returned to the English Football League for the first time since 2008 as the Welsh side won the National League title in 2023.

The Red Dragons have seen their popularity soar since 2021 following a shock club takeover from Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Increased investment, and a feel-good factor at the Racecourse Ground, havepropelled Phil Parkinson’s side to the third tier of England’s professional football leagues as part of ambitious plans in North Wales.

Reynolds has made no secret of his desire to take Wrexham up the football pyramid with the potential of a Premier League place not out of the equation.

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Which league does Wrexham play?Wrexham play in League One, where they will attempt to achieve three promotions in a row to reach the Championship just one league below the Premier League.

The journey to the Premier League looks like this: Promotion from League Two (4th tier) feeds into League One (3rd tier), and on into the EFL Championship (2nd tier), and finally the Premier League (1st tier).

On this day in 1978…

One of the greatest days in Wrexham history, as we secured promotion to the Second Division with a 7-1 win over Rotherham!#WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/vuWn4XMp6T

— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) April 22, 2022Can Wrexham reach the Premier League?Wrexham reaching the Premier League would be nothing short of incredible, based on spending the majority of the century in the 5th division, and it would take a few years of progress and steady promotions up the pyramid to finally reach the top tier.

The difficulty in rising up through the EFL (4th tier ‘League Two’ to the Premier League) can be very difficult, even for sides with greater football league experience, but Reynolds remains ambitious.

A pathway to the Premier League would break new ground for the National League as the financial gap between the top flight and the EFL Championship (2nd tier) alone continues to grow by the year.

Clubs promoted from National League to Premier LeagueThe only team to have been promoted from the National League to the Premier League is Luton Town as they achieved this feat in 2023.

However, five other clubs have made the jump from fifth-tier to top-flight prior to 1992, when it was known as the ‘English First Division’ before the advent of the Premier League era:

Carlisle UnitedLeyton OrientOxford UnitedGrimsby TownNotts CountyThe path from League Two (4th tier) to Premier League (1st tier) has been achieved — and will keep Reynolds’ hopes alive — with current Premier League sides including Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Bournemouth on the list.

The most impressive rise, from League Two to the Premier League has been Brentford’s elevation from obscurity to the Premier League level.

After slipping down to the fourth tier in 2007/08, the Bees hauled themselves back up the ladder, with League One (3rd tier) promotion in 2009.

That was followed by a Championship (2nd tier) spot in 2014 and a first ever Premier League place sealed in 2021 — a turnaround that was 14 years in the making.

A long climb to the 🔝#OnThisDay in 2009, we secured League Two promotion away at Darlington#BrentfordFC pic.twitter.com/X6K7mw12GQ

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) April 25, 2022