(Reuters) – Wrexham, the newly-promoted Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, will compete in a seven-on-seven tournament in early June in Cary, North Carolina.
The 32-team event from June 1-4 called The Soccer Tournament will consist of a group stage and knockout rounds capped by a winner-takes-all $1 million championship game. The field features clubs from seven different countries.
Last month, Wrexham sealed promotion to the English Football League as fifth tier champions after beating Boreham Wood 3-1 to win the National League with a game to spare.
The club have attracted plenty of attention in the famously soccer-ambivalent United States thanks to their owners’ star power and their popular docu-series “Welcome to Wrexham.”
They will begin the group stage of The Soccer Tournament on June 1 against Italian Serie B club Como 1907, whose ownership group includes soccer greats Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas.
Late that day, Wrexham will face a U.S. women’s side of former national team players before closing out the group stage on June 2 against Say Word FC, a young team paying homage to Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country.
Earlier this week, it was announced that Wrexham will play a July 22 friendly in California against Major League Soccer reserve team LA Galaxy II.
Two other U.S. fixtures had already been set, with Wrexham facing Chelsea in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Manchester United in San Diego, California, on July 19 and 25 respectively.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
