The Welsh soccer team Wrexham FC has a long history, which includes victories over both FC Porto and Arsenal in European competitions. They currently play in the National League, the fifth division of English soccer. And they’ve been in the news more than most fifth division soccer teams because of the guys who recently bought the team for £2 million ($2.78 million) — Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Now, the new owners are taking action to help the club’s players and staff who lost wages during the pandemic. The BBC reports that Reynolds and McElhenney will cover the money that the team’s employees lost when they were furloughed due to COVID-19. (The National League temporarily suspended play in March.) The UK covered up to 80% of the wages of people unable to work because of the pandemic, with a maximum of £2,500 ($3,476) per month.
“Over the years people have made sacrifices for this football club to help it get by,” said Wrexham manager Dean Keates. “Now it is in hands that can financially stabilise the football club, to have that gesture repaid back to us is great.”
Keates also addressed whether the new ownership would mean a significant increase in spending. “It’s not going to go straight to the first team budget and we are not going to become ridiculously silly wage payers of players, that is not going to happen,” he told the BBC.
As gestures from new owners go, this is a big one for many reasons. Wrexham is currently seventh in the league; will this change in fortune push them even higher on the table? The end of this season could be one to watch.
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