Wrexham have jetted off for Australia for a pre-season tour, which also sees them playing in New Zealand too.
Wrexham’s pre-season preparations get underway on Friday when Phil Parkinson’s side go up against A-league Melbourne Victory, in the first of three games during their pre-season tour.
It comes after Wrexham earned promotion from League One, making for back-to-back-to-back promotions under owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, with the Dragons moving up into the second tier of English football for the first time in more than 40 years.
And their tour of Australia and New Zealand is very reminiscent of their Wrex Coast Tour in 2024: Wrexham memorably played against Chelsea in the States, as well as Bournemouth and Vancouver Whitecaps.
This summer’s tour down under sees Wrexham play Melbourne Victory on Friday, before games against Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix, before returning to Wales to complete the rest of their pre-season preparations.
Michael Williamson explains why Wrexham have gone to Australia
Speaking in an interview with ESPN, Wrexham’s CEO Michael Williamson has spoken about the Australia tour. He spoke about the club’s international revenue and how these types of tours are vital for building and maintaining fanbases overseas, and in turn sustaining that international revenue.
Williamson said: “But 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.”
How much Wrexham make from sponsorship money
Wrexham’s books for the 2023/24 season revealed one incredible thing: an uptake in sponsorship money from £1.8million to £13.1million.
It’s hard to pin exactly what the cause of this is, but it’s obvious that the Welcome to Wrexham docuseries has played a huge role, and the club’s overall success on the pitch has helped propel them to stardom.
There’s already been confirmation of season five of Welcome to Wrexham. And Reynolds and McElhenney are aiming for a fourth-straight promotion to the Premier League, so there seems no ceiling on what the club can do both on and off the field.
Now in Australia, Williamson has also revealed Wrexham’s plans to gain fans in Asia, with a suspected 280 million football fans up for grabs in Indonesia alone.
Wrexham’s game against Melbourne Victory takes place on Friday evening.