Wrexham AFC: The fastest growing club in the world

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Wrexham
Image via Disney+

The name Wrexham may come as a mystery to football fans across the globe, but this Welsh city located in the borough of Wrexham county is quickly making a name for itself globally.

In a city of blue collar workers, they all share the same passion – their beloved Wrexham Association Football Club. A club that has some of the richest history that you will find across any sporting codes around the world. Founded in October of 1864, Wrexham AFC is the oldest Association Football side in the world. Nicknamed the Dragons, they are the heart and soul of this Welsh community and the football team competes in the National league, the English fifth tier.

The name Wrexham may be ringing a few bells in readers’ minds by now. The Dragons have rapidly rose to the top of football news tabloids across the globe in the past two years after its high profile sale to Hollywood Actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds in November of 2020. This created much noise around Wrexham, but what was to follow could not be imagined.

Whilst News outlets and football media pundits were debating the intentions of the club having American ownership, Wrexham was working tirelessly behind the scenes to put themselves back on the map. The rich history of the club, which includes the home ground of Racehorse Ground, is the world’s oldest international football stadium. The potentially bright future for the Dragons is one of the reasons why Reynolds and McElhenney jumped at the opportunity to buy at a price tag that cost the pair £2million ($3.32 million) in total.

With high profile owners, comes equally high profile opportunities. Disney+, the online streaming platform home to a whopping 221 million subscribers, saw the potential in the Wrexham AFC story – arguably one that is only just beginning. The documentary follows the club’s journey through the 2021 National League season in their pursuit to gain promotion into League 2. Reynolds and McElhenney have both stated that the goal for the club in 2022 is to be promoted to the next tier, with their long term vision for the Dragons eventually making a top flight appearance in the English Premier League.

Disney+ has done a compelling job in capturing the excitement and optimism surrounding the club. The ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ series paints the picture of a true underdog trying to survive and battle their way to the top. With the show’s episodes being released weekly in the midst of the club’s season, it has generated massive amounts of interest both domestically and internationally. A large focus has been tapping into the international markets and bringing Wrexham’s story to the world. In the United States, Wrexham merchandise sales spiked following the release of an episode. To measure the direct impact the documentary is having on its US viewers, a data science team from global e-commerce firm Pattern analysed consumer demand for Wrexham AFC merchandise on Amazon daily for the year to date. They found that merchandise sales skyrocketed by 47% on average the day after an episode is released – with Wrexham football shirts being the most in-demand item with an average increase of 113%.

With such an interest in the club, many new fans are asking the question of how they can watch Wrexham games. This is a key area of focus for Reynolds and McElhenney who both recognise the need for streaming of games being based in North America themselves. In a bid to capitalise on club interest, Wrexham approached the National League bosses with a proposal to stream Wrexham matches both domestically and internationally. The proposal was shut down which Reynolds described as ‘truly baffling’. Instead the National League is looking to create its own streaming service for the league.

Wrexham’s proposal to the National League was the idea of free international streaming to lure new fans towards the club and league. Domestic fans would pay £10 ($16) to stream live matches with all streaming profits being given to the National League. It’s obvious Wrexham’s new owners are trying to maximise the club’s growth by getting more eyes on the Dragons through live streaming matches.

The ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary has shown the power and reach of streaming to a global audience. Reynolds and McElhenney’s focus is on connecting fans of the documentary to the club’s live matches, giving fans full access to their journey. As mentioned earlier, the revenue will come with growing interest in the club, and the spike in merchandise sales is a sign of that growth.

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Brisbane Roar partners with PlanPay for 2026/27

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Image Credit: Brisbane Roar

TWELVE months ago, as the 2025/26 A-League Men’s season kicked off, Brisbane Roar’s active supporter group surged back to life.

‘The Den’ – as they’re known – had been a famous feature of the Roar’s Championship-winning glory years. Now heavily re-populated by a younger wave of supporters, their enthusiasm through early-season results against Macarthur, Melbourne City and Newcastle made them, momentarily, the talk of the A-League.

The Roar’s administration understand what a crucial role their supporters play in the health of the club – be they the new generation at the front of The Den, or the loyalists who have ridden the ups and downs of their 21 A-League seasons.

So, they have partnered with Australian-founded company PlanPay, to soften the financial barriers and increase fiscal flexibility for those wanting to cheer on the Roar’s men’s and women’s sides, helping to get them in the stands as early as possible.

‘Membership is the most important thing we offer, but given the current cost of living crisis, it’s also the hardest ask at the moment,’ Roar’s Head of Public Relations and Communications, Joseph Esposito, told Soccerscene.

‘When you’re targeting families of four, or youngsters, a full membership can be a big hit in one go. It’s important to be realistic, so having an option like PlanPay lets members spread that cost over time with no interest and no credit check.’

‘It also means we can get people to commit to membership earlier, to come on board and be part of something. It works on both ends, allowing us to offer an earlier price point for potential members – and most importantly, we’re not asking them to spend beyond their means.’

One of PlanPay’s key advantages is its ability to align payment schedules with how Australians actually earn their income.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics payroll data from March 2024, approximately 86% of Australian employees are paid weekly or fortnightly, with 33% receiving weekly wages and 53% paid fortnightly. In comparison, just 12% are paid monthly.

Despite this, many traditional membership payment options are structured around upfront or monthly payments, which don’t necessarily align with household cash flow.

By offering weekly, fortnightly or monthly instalments, PlanPay allows Roar supporters to choose a payment schedule that suits their payday and household budget, making football memberships more manageable without relying on credit, interest or debt.

The partnership is also timely in a local sense; the ABS has also found sports participation costs in Brisbane rose 9.6% in the year to June 2025. Furthermore, as of March 2026, 41% of Australians had used a BNPL service in the past six months (Finder).

‘From our end, it’s essentially a bit like a modern layby. You choose your membership, pay a small deposit, and then pay the rest in instalments on the schedule that suits the individual,’ said Esposito.

‘Once the first payment is made your membership is fully active. We have previously had monthly payments to ease the pinch, but opening it up to have fortnightly or weekly options, more often makes it a whole lot easier to have people in.’

PlanPay was founded in Sydney in 2022 as a digitised lay-by for travel, and has since moved into ticketing, sports, and live events alongside expansion into the US and UK.

The company is now based in Charlotte, North Carolina, while maintaining its engineering, customer support and onboarding presence in Australia. PlanPay continues to partner with merchants globally to bring another way to pay, to more fans, Brian Learst, Chairman of PlanPay said:

‘We are thrilled to help Brisbane Roar FC lower the total cost of attending their matches by providing fans with debt-free, interest-free flexible payment plans.’

‘PlanPay allows fans to purchase the best seats early and customise their payment size and timing.’

Both the Roar’s men’s and women’s side present as fascinating prospects this season.

Newly-appointed women’s manager Johnathan Clemente is the youngest manager in A-Leagues history, with his charges looking to better last season’s impressive semi-final finish.

Meanwhile, the men’s outfit kicked off their second season under Michael Valkanis on Friday at Suncorp Stadium with an impressive win over Perth Glory, and will again rely on the energy and passion of those in the stands to drive their success both on and off the field.

‘Our fans are not just the present, but the future. In that regard, it’s not about getting them to spend beyond their means; it’s about allowing them to get in earlier, and in an easier way,’ continued Esposito.

‘Lots of younger fans are students, or they’re early in their working lives. Being realistic about it, paying a full season membership can sometimes be a real barrier, especially if they’re living out of home, paying rent for the first time.

‘Having PlanPay allows them to have the option that isn’t acquiring interest or debt, makes it easier for them to budget, and most importantly allows them to do what they do, without spending beyond their means.’

Make Membership More Accessible for Your Fans — Talk to PlanPay

The Spreadsheet Is Dead: Majestri’s Fix for How Clubs Actually Assess Players

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If you’ve ever sat through a club’s end-of-season review, you’ll know the drill. A coach pulls out a folder of notes, someone half-remembers what a player was like back in Round 3 and a parent quietly wonders what they actually got for their rego fees beyond a team photo. Football club platform Majestri says it has a fix for that, and it’s built directly into its Player Assessment module.

Why clubs bother assessing players in the first place

According to Majestri, clubs run player assessments for one of three reasons – usually more than one at once. Some are chasing genuine development, using the data to lift the level across their high-performance squads. Others are after a fairer way to pick teams, putting every player on the same measurable scale so selection is based on evidence rather than a coach’s gut feel about who “looks the part.” And for clubs operating under a Football Australia or state federation licence, assessments at set intervals often aren’t optional – they’re a compliance requirement, with the paperwork to prove it when asked.

Whatever the motivation, Majestri’s pitch is the same: don’t let that assessment data die in a spreadsheet on someone’s laptop.

Build your own assessment, your way

There’s no one-size-fits-all template here. The Assessment Designer lets technical directors set their own criteria, sort them into whatever categories their coaching staff already use – think core skills, possession, defending, attacking – and decide what each point on the rating scale actually means. Crucially, every criterion also gets a comment field, because a bare number rarely tells the full story of a player’s development.

The Assessment Module Builder for an NPL Juniors assessment
The Assessment Module Builder, showing an NPL Juniors assessment with a 1-10 rating scale banded from under performing through to excelling and role-specific criteria grouped into core skills, possession, defending and attacking. Source: Majestri.

Build it once and it’s reusable every time that assessment cycle comes around, so every player and every coach – is working off the same yardstick.

Something for the parents to actually take home

One of the more relatable pain points Majestri is targeting: most families never see much tangible return from a season of fees beyond a team photo. Player Assessment addresses that with report cards – colour-coded against the same scale coaches used, grouped by category with averages calculated automatically, and delivered as a PDF or an interactive web page a parent can read without needing a coaching badge themselves.

A player report card for an under-15 player
A report card for an under-15 player, colour-coded from under performing to excelling, with a score for every criterion and a group average across core skills, possession, defending and attacking. Source: Majestri.

 

Turning the numbers into something useful

The real value, though, sits in what Majestri calls the Player Analysis Lab. This is where clubs can plot a player against their team-mates or an entire age group across two categories at once, spotting clusters and outliers at a glance. Every score gets read against the group average – so a “7” actually means something in context – and clubs can report at the broad category level or drill into individual fields underneath. The results can be filtered down and exported for selection meetings or grading purposes.

The Player Analysis Lab comparing players in an under-15 and under-16 squad
The Player Analysis Lab comparing seven players across under-15 and under-16 squads, with a scatter plot, a sortable table of scores against the player average, and controls for choosing which categories and fields to report on. Source: Majestri.

The admin side nobody enjoys, made easier

Beyond the flashy analytics, there’s a practical layer built for the volunteers actually running the process:

  • Sweep monitoring – a quick view of which assessments are done and which are still outstanding, organised into defined assessment periods so progress can be tracked against peers.
  • Individual development plans – every player gets a personalised plan, and clubs can group common improvement areas to run cross-team training sessions that lift the whole club rather than just one squad.
  • Access control – coaches and technical staff can only see assessments for the teams they’re responsible for, and completed assessments are only visible to people linked to that player’s registration.
“Hard numbers to draw on when you review coaching staff and curriculum – and something tangible for the players and parents who pay the fees.” – Majestri

 

The bigger picture

Majestri frames all of this as sitting on top of the club’s own data – assessment results live on each player’s profile inside the platform rather than in a spreadsheet that walks out the door when a technical director moves on. For committees, it also means hard numbers to lean on when reviewing coaching staff or curriculum, rather than relying on anecdote.

It’s a fairly clear read on where club administration software is heading: less about digitising paperwork for its own sake, and more about making the data clubs already collect actually work for player development, team selection and compliance  without adding to the workload of the volunteers who run the show.

For more information on Majestri’s Player Assessment module, visit majestri.com.au/player-assessment.

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