Mid-July 2026 — Wrexham Pays Off Its Past, and the Emmy Streak Continues

A WrexPat's look at Wrexham AFC: mid-July 2026

Barely a day after my last post and there's already more worth writing about. That's pre-season for you this year.

The club finally owns its ground, in every sense that matters

Wrexham AFC and the Wrexham Supporters Trust confirmed on July 13th that the old WST-era lease on the Racecourse has been fully collapsed, per the club's own announcement. Some background, because it matters: the WST took on a 99-year lease of the Racecourse from the university back in 2016 to help save the club, and even after Wrexham bought the freehold outright in 2022, that old lease technically stayed in place, subleased back to the club. It's been a legal loose end for years. That loose end is now gone. Per Wrexham.com's reporting, the club paid the WST £187,000, deliberately the same figure fans raised to save the club back in 2011, some of which the WST has already returned to those original donors. Covenants stay in place until 2115 to guarantee football keeps being played there. The club said the move clears the way for the Kop development, "as we deliver an improved stadium for our players, staff and supporters."

I like this one, even though it's not flashy news. No signing, no kit reveal, just paperwork. But there's something fitting about the club closing out the exact debt structure that saved it in 2011 right as it's pouring money into a new stand on the same ground. Circle closed.

That Wisla Krakow score, finally confirmed

I left this hanging in the last post because I couldn't confirm it in time. Wrexham drew 0-0 with Wisla Krakow in the pre-season opener on July 11th. Arthur Okonkwo saved a second-half penalty from Jordi Sanchez to keep the clean sheet, Kieffer Moore had two good chances go begging, and Lewis Brunt headed over twice from corners. Not the kind of result that tells you much this early, but a clean sheet on the road against decent opposition is a fine way to open a summer.

Four more Emmy nods

Welcome to Wrexham picked up four nominations for the 2026 Primetime Emmys: Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program, Cinematography, Picture Editing, and Sound Mixing, per Wrexham Reds. That's an Outstanding Series nomination in every eligible year the show has existed, a genuinely rare streak for any documentary series, let alone one about a fourth-tier football club when it started. The Creative Arts ceremony runs September 5th and 6th. I won't pretend I'm not rooting for it, but at this point I'd say the show has earned the nominations on its own merits, not just goodwill.

Still to come

Manchester United in Helsinki on July 18th is next, and then the tour I've been counting down since it was announced. More on that soon.

Sources: Wrexham AFC, Racecourse lease collapse, Wrexham.com, lease collapse details, Wrexham AFC, Wisla Krakow match report, and Wrexham Reds, Emmy nominations.

Header photo: the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, by John Lord, via Flickr / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).