Wrexham promoted to Championship in historic run of three promotions in three consecutive years for the club.
Wrexham promoted. They are now the Hollywood-owned Welsh club who have written themselves a chapter in the English Football League record books.
They defeated Charlton, another former Premier League team, 3-0 in the end to guarantee their place in the 2025–26 Championship. With one game remaining, Ollie Rathbone’s goal and Sam Smith’s double put the Reds on track for promotion to League One, condemning the Addicks, Wycombe, and Stockport to the playoffs.
As recently as the spring of 2023, Boreham Wood, Dorking, and Yeovil had been playing at Wrexham. Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, and Leicester will be among the teams visiting the Racecourse Ground in the upcoming season. Wrexham was last in such distinguished company in the second division in 1982.
The Wrexham supporters should cherish this moment. At full time, thousands of them rushed onto the pitch, blazing red flares, waving Welsh flags and pounding drums with joy. They wouldn’t be budged either.
Fans gathered on the pitch surrounding James McClean, the seasoned Wrexham captain, who found it difficult to comprehend the sights.
“I know it’s the old cliche, but look at this. How do you put it into words? To go into the history books and be the captain and given the honour of leading that is incredible.
“You don’t get success without a strong dressing room and that doesn’t just come from the dressing room, it comes from the management, the fans, our families, the staff behind the scenes – it’s one big group effort. You see how tight we are, we’re a well-oiled machine and a successful one.”
The players from Wrexham quickly responded to the smouldering atmosphere. Matty James rolled a set-piece onto Rathbone to lash home after McClean tapped it short. It was a spectacular goal that deserved the celebration. Let the festivities become wild.
This time, even the always flamboyant Parkinson found it difficult to control his feelings. In the stands, there were fireworks and red balloons. When Smith nodded in his second to put a final red stamp on it, there was more of the same.
Across four clubs, this was the sixth promotion for the Wrexham boss. The former manager of Bolton and Bradford has been the steady hand on the tiller, leading his team up the leagues despite all the glitz and glamour on the club’s owners.
Parkinson dedicated the day to the Wrexham “collective”, his players, the fans and, of course the owners, with whom he may soon start plotting a path to the top tier. “Everyone has been talking about making history all season,” he said. “The trajectory has been a rapid one. You can never take these medals away from us.”