Wrexham have taken themselves to Australia for part of their pre-season preparations. But there’s a bigger mission for the club down under.
Pre-season is underway and for Phil Parkinson, it’s a tour of Australia and New Zealand this time round.
Last summer it was the USA, and after the success of Welcome to Wrexham down under, Wrexham have taken themselves to Oceania where they kickstarted their pre-season fixtures on Friday.
Wrexham beat Melbourne Victory 3-0 with new boy Ryan Hardie getting himself on the scoresheet on his debut, whilst Wrexham fans were impressed with Ollie Palmer who started and played the first 45 minutes.
But there was concern going into the game about how many tickets had been sold for the game against Melbourne, and for the upcoming games against Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix as well.
Melbourne Victory vs Wrexham attendance revealed
Fans on social media were talking about the apparent lack of ticket sales for the Wrexham Down Under tour. And when the players came out against Melbourne, there were large gaps of empty seats in the 53,000-seater Marvel Stadium. But it’s since been revealed that an impressive 37,020 fans attended the game.
It’s not as many as attended the Florida Cup final between Wrexham and Chelsea last summer (50,596), but it’s still a huge number for Australia and a huge number for Wrexham too, whose Racecourse ground can seat 10,500.
Wrexham’s record attendance in a competitive game was a staggering 34,445 for an FA Cup game against Manchester United at the Racecourse in 1957.
Why have Wrexham decided to go to Australia this summer?
As was the case in the USA last summer, Wrexham are looking to expand their global fanbase, with a view to maintaining international sponsorships: of which account for more than 50% of the club’s revenue.
As it goes, season four of Welcome to Wrexham viewed at 16.5x ‘the average demand of TV shows in the region’ of Australia, putting it in the 99th percentile of documentary programmes in the country too.
So it makes sense that the club head there for pre-season, sell shirts and merchandise and generally boost engagement at the same time.
Speaking recently, CEO Michael Williamson explained why Wrexham have gone to Australia, saying: “Over 50% of our revenues are from international sources. So having these types of preseasons but ultimately, just being able to connect and engage with our fans through global distribution of merchandising, being able to be available for our matches on streaming and linear channels worldwide.
“All of that drives that continued growth and sustainability, because that’s really what this is about.
“I have no doubt we can arrive at Premier League at some point, but what I want to make sure is that we’re future-proofing, so that when we arrive there, we’re able to stay there, and that we don’t just come falling, crashing back down, like you’ve seen other clubs do.”
Wrexham next play Sydney FC on the 15th.